Tucker & Leo - Leo Is Depressed

Are you ready to meditate with Kari?

Make sure that you're all comfortable and warm and snugly in your bed.

The light is just right.

You're wearing your most comfortable pajamas and you're ready to relax your body.

Leo had been really down in the dumps.

Tucker had noticed but he was just kind of doing his own thing,

Including Leo in things,

Trying to cheer him up,

Doing his normal thing.

But then Tucker had started to get just a little bit more concerned,

A little bit more worried because Leo was just really depressed.

Tucker said,

What is it Leo?

It's been going on for weeks now and I keep trying different things and I keep bringing you new bones and I keep including you when we play games and all you want to do is just be left alone,

You don't want to talk,

You don't want to go outside,

You're not even eating as much these days.

I'm just really concerned.

Mum's even noticed,

Mum's noticed that you've been really quiet and all you want to do is just sleep on the sofa and it's like worrying me Leo,

What's going on?

Leo said,

I don't know.

I'm just fed up.

I just don't feel like there's anything interesting to get up for.

I feel really bored all the time and not interested in anything.

I'm not hungry.

Nothing tastes very nice.

I just want to sleep and be left alone.

Oh Leo,

That sounds terrible.

That sounds like a really sad movie or like the end of the world Leo,

What caused it?

What caused it?

Did something happen?

Was it something I said Leo?

Was it something I did?

Was it that time when we were at the dog park when I bit your tail by accident when I was trying to catch that frisbee?

Was it that Leo?

Leo said,

No,

No.

Tucker said,

Then what Leo?

What happened?

Leo didn't lift his head up off his paws.

He was just laid on the sofa thinking about what Tucker had asked him.

And then he just kind of closed his eyes as if he'd forgot that Tucker even asked him anything and acted like he was going to fall asleep.

Tucker said,

Leo,

I asked you a question.

Leo opened his eyes again and said,

I don't know,

Tucker.

I don't know.

I don't think anything really happened.

I just got fed up and down in the dumps.

Now life is just kind of bleh.

Oh,

Leo,

We have to do something about it.

You know what we need to do,

Right?

You know what we need to do.

We need to do this thing,

Right?

Where you start to do something nice every day for yourself.

What's some of the things that you like to do,

Leo?

What do you like to do?

Leo was quiet for a while thinking.

I don't know,

He said.

He was really depressed.

Tucker said,

Come on,

Leo,

There's got to be something that you like to do.

Think about things that make you feel good,

Right?

Think about things that make you want to get up in the morning.

I can tell you everything that I like to do.

I like to eat lots of things.

I like to chase my tail.

I like to look at the clouds.

I really,

Really,

Really like to chase a hosepipe.

You know when dad's trying to water plants,

I can't help it.

I jump in front of a hose and I like.

.

.

And I try and eat all the water and I pretend that it's like something that's flying at my face and I go.

.

.

And I just try and eat it all.

It's like one of my favourite things to do.

I like to eat things that drop on the floor.

That makes me very happy.

I always just wait there while mummy's cooking and she's chopping things and sometimes she chops a carrot and a bit of carrot flies off by accident and I grab it in my mouth,

But I can never quite catch it.

But I do get it off the floor sometimes,

But sometimes I miss it and I'm like,

I must be blind.

How could I not see it?

I can smell that there's a carrot down here somewhere,

But I just can't see it.

And then I find it and it's like Christmas.

And then I really like that.

What else do I like?

I like to chase people.

I like to attack doggies.

I really like to attack doggies.

I can't help myself.

I just like to bark a lot and growl and pull really hard on the lead and act like I'm going to eat those little puppies,

Even though you know I might not.

But you know,

Mummy never lets me off the lead now,

So I don't know if I would eat a puppy.

Maybe I'd be vegetarian and not eat the puppies anymore.

But I don't know.

I like bunny rabbits.

I like chickens,

Leo.

I don't chase chickens,

But I do like to eat all the food that chickens have not eaten.

So when I break into the chicken coop,

I don't normally go for the chickens at all.

I don't.

I'm very good like that.

But I do eat all of their scraps and all of their poops.

I do like chicken poop.

Leo raised one of his eyebrows as if to say,

Tucker,

You're so gross.

And Tucker noticed what Leo did and just carried on talking like he didn't mind.

Yes,

Chicken poop is very delicious.

What else do I like to do?

Oh,

I like to have a bath.

What do you like?

Do you like a bath,

Leo?

Do you like a bath?

Leo went,

No,

You know,

I don't like a bath.

Oh,

That's right.

Yeah,

You hate it,

Don't you?

You really don't like it.

Okay.

I like it when Ellie puts silly clothes on me and she puts sunglasses on me.

I like that because I know I look funny even though I can't see myself.

I like to wear sunglasses.

Yeah,

I do.

I like that.

I like,

I like Christmas Day.

Oh,

I do like chocolate.

I'm not supposed to eat chocolate,

I know,

But I really do like it.

There was this one time,

Right?

One time,

Do you remember Leo,

That time when mummy bought all that chocolate for Christmas and she put it in different gift bags and she put it in the spare room and there were seven gift bags in there full of different chocolate,

Chocolate chip cookies and covered chocolates and candies and desserts and all sorts of things for everybody in the family.

And yeah,

I ate five of them,

Five bags of them and I wasn't sick at all.

Can you remember that Leo?

Leo said,

Yeah,

I remember that well.

Your poops weren't very happy though,

Were they?

Tucker said,

No,

They were a bit strange.

They were very runny and weird and they had some serious like strange things in them like wrapping,

Wrapping papers and candy papers and chocolate ball papers and lots of tinfoil and things like that.

But yes,

It was worth it and it was delicious Leo.

I do like to break into things I'm not supposed to have.

Yeah,

That was nice.

Are you getting the drift Leo?

Are you following along?

Have you found something that I've been saying that's making you want to be happy again?

It's making you want to be my brother again and play with me and chase me after bones and things I really like.

Oh,

That's another thing I like.

I like it when you chase me around the living room,

Trying to get the bone out of my mouth.

And I really like to watch you pull the fur off tennis balls.

Do you like that Leo?

Leo said,

Yeah,

Yeah,

I do like to,

I do like to pull the fur off tennis balls Tucker.

That is one thing I do like.

How about socks Leo?

Do you still like to chew socks?

How about sleeves?

You like to chase Isabelle and bite on her sleeves.

You like that,

Don't you?

Leo smiled a little bit.

Yeah,

Yeah,

I do like that because I really love Izzy and Izzy always runs around and pretends to scream and thinks it's really funny.

And then I bite on her sleeves and she likes that.

Yeah,

You see?

That made you smile a little bit Leo.

I know what?

I've got a really good idea.

I've got a really good idea.

Tell me about your favourite memory.

Something about when you were small,

A memory that made you really happy,

A memory that always makes you happy when you think about it.

Tell me about that.

Leo thought about it for a second.

But first,

Because he was so depressed,

He was having a hard time remembering anything happy.

It took him a while.

He kept sighing and thinking about it and Tucker was very patient.

And then he eventually said,

I remember when I was a puppy that we had a different couch and it was a big couch that went all around two walls.

And I like to run from one end of the couch all the way around the corner,

All the way to the other end of the couch and bounce off it and then turn around and do it again and again and again and again.

That was one of my favourite things to do back then,

Leo said.

That's really nice,

Leo said Tucker.

I wish I would have been around when you did that.

Were you a really small puppy?

Leo said,

Yes,

You weren't even there then.

My Jack was here.

Jack was my older brother,

But then Jack died.

So then I was lonely and I was chewing on my paws and I was chewing on my legs and my hives were terrible.

And mum and dad decided maybe I needed another puppy friend.

So they got you.

I'm so glad they got me.

I'm so glad they got me.

I was really,

Really in a bad way,

You know,

Before they got me living on the streets and stuff.

Now,

Now look at me.

I have my own house.

I have a brother.

I have a mum and dad and I have lots of people that love me.

I'm so very lucky.

That's a really good idea,

Actually,

Leo.

Let's think about all the things that make us really happy and grateful.

Because you know,

When you think about the things that make you feel grateful for being here,

Then it kind of chews you up a little bit,

Don't you think?

Leo said,

I don't really feel like it.

Tucker said,

No,

Come on,

Liam,

Not taking no for an answer.

I'm going to make you think of three things,

Three things that you're grateful for.

And I suggest that you do this every day.

You wake up in the morning and you think,

Oh,

My eyes are open.

It's a new day and the sun is up and it's nice and sunny outside.

And what am I grateful for?

What am I grateful for for being here?

Hmm.

Hmm.

I know what I'm grateful for.

I'm grateful that I'm not living on the streets anymore.

I'm grateful that I don't have to eat my own poop.

Because yeah,

You do,

You know,

When you're starving.

Leo said,

Oh,

Yes,

Yeah,

I'm really grateful.

I don't have to do that.

Tucker started laughing.

You're so funny,

Leo.

No,

Seriously,

What are you grateful for?

I'm grateful that I have you,

Tucker.

Oh,

Oh,

You're going to make me cry,

Leo.

Oh,

That's really nice.

I'm grateful for you,

Leo,

Too.

I am.

I'm grateful for all as our friends.

We've got some really nice friends.

We've got some lovely friends.

We've got some strange friends,

Too.

Leo said,

Yes,

We do have some strange friends.

It started to perk up a little bit.

You could tell he perked up a little bit because he was sitting a bit more upright.

He wasn't like slumped down as if he was just wanting to go to sleep.

And his face and his eyes looked a little bit brighter and happier.

Tucker noticed and he thought,

It's working.

It's working.

What else,

Leo?

Tell me something else that you're grateful for.

Well,

I really do like those dog bones that mum gets.

They're really good.

Yes,

They are.

And I'm really grateful that daddy just bought a big bag of tennis balls again.

Have you noticed we've got like 20,

000 tennis balls all over the house?

Unfortunately,

Most of them keep flying under the sofa.

But yeah,

I can try and get them with me,

But most of the time,

Mummy has to just get down on the floor and get them from us,

Which is really funny because sometimes I sniff a bum.

She don't like that at all.

Yeah.

What else?

I think that's all I can think about right now,

Said Leo after he thought about it for a while.

Tucker said,

Well,

That's okay,

Leo.

At least you feel a little bit better,

Right?

You look a little bit better.

You look a little bit happier.

Leo said,

Yeah,

I do.

I do.

I do feel better.

How about this,

Leo?

How about we go outside,

Me and you right now,

And we go sniff everything.

We go sniff all the neighbour dog pees.

We go sniff all the neighbour dog poops.

And we go and walk around and get some fresh air,

Get some sunshine on his fur.

Maybe do a little bit of prancing,

A little bit of walking,

A little bit of dancing.

And maybe,

Maybe you'll start to feel so much better.

Trust me,

When you don't feel very happy,

Going outside always makes you feel so much better.

Leo said,

All right,

Go on then,

Tucker.

I think I'll go outside with you for a minute.

Tucker started to get so excited that he was running around and chasing his tail in circles,

Running around and around and around.

Oh,

Come on,

Come on,

Come on,

He kept saying.

And then he went diving through the dog door.

And Leo followed after him.

And they went and sniffed around for a while.

It did make Leo feel a lot better.

Walking outside and just getting some fresh air in your lungs makes you feel better.

Some sunshine on your skin.

Thinking about the things that you feel grateful for.

That makes you appreciate some of the things that you have that make you happy.

Also,

Remembering your favorite funny memories.

The memories that make you laugh or make you smile will always make you feel better.

And trying to make a list of things that always make you feel good.

And maybe doing one of those things off your list every day will start to cheer you up.

Tucker and Leo settled down next to each other on the sofa.

Leo closed his eyes.

And Tucker had one of his eyes open just peeking and staring at him to make sure he was all right.

Tucker felt better.

He looked like his brother was more back to normal.

He just needed to make sure he did some of those things every day to keep his spirits up and to make him happy.

And then Tucker closed his eyes and they both fell fast asleep.

The end.