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Sit, Stay, READ!
January 17, 2011
Our first Sit, Stay, READ! of the year is from Donna V. She and I met a few months ago as I was walking Stanley and she had her new beagle puppy Josie out in her front yard. As people with dogs do, we ended up talking about our fur-kids, comparing notes, asking about training and diet, and forging a friendship over our shared love of dogs. Donna is experiencing the joy of bonding with her puppy through training - and finding out that sometimes it's not all-together clear who is training whom. . . nor is it clear who loves whom more.
If you have a story you’d like to tell us about, write me. We love hearing about people or animals or groups that make the world a happier, better place to be, and if we use your story you'll get a free pound of cookies!
Holy Hogwarts!
Josie is an 8-month-old beagle with lightning-fast reflexes. These reflexes kick in most often when I drop something that she shouldn't be eating. No sock falls from our dryer without my new friend catching it. A napkin flutters from our table and barely hits the floor before it's in her mouth.
When we went to puppy kindergarten and learned the Drop It command, I thought I'd found a solution. I'd tell her to drop it, then treat her when she did. But somewhere along the way, Josie turned my Drop It "command" into an opportunity. Soon she was stealing whatever she could and then selling it all back for treats. I admit that this is a bit dysfunctional, but a biscotti for pair of reading glasses seemed like a deal to me, too. One thing led to another, and soon we both had this monkey on our back. I'd still try to keep her from things, but I developed a sense of security that with the right treat, my stuff could be my own again.
But this week our diplomatic arrangement came to an end. My son and I were putting together our newest Lego game, the Harry Potter Hogwarts. We were snapping and yapping, and having a great time until - as if in slow motion - two lego pieces careened off the table, and bounced to the ground. "NOOOO!!!!," we cried, our eyes and mouths wide as pies, as Josie darted in for the kill. In a second, both pieces were in her mouth. I scooped her up with one hand, and grabbed for treats with the other. One Lego piece rattled past her teeth, tumbled out of her mouth and onto the floor. And then, I heard it….the dreaded sound…"Gulp". That quickly, it was gone. I hadn't even gotten the treat in my hand. She'd swallowed the second piece. Silence. A sinkhole in the pit of my stomach.
I called the vet for what is sure to be one of the many advice calls we will have over the years. And as it turns out, Lego-eating happens, and often passes through the normal channels; we'd have a bit of monitoring and a fiber-rich diet for a day or two, and then we should be okay. Relief. Gratitude.
And this is how I know how much I love this dog. That feeling in the pit of my stomach? It wasn't there when Josie chewed through our sofa and yanked out the stuffing or when she tore through my favorite pillow. It wasn't there when she gnawed on the leg of my beloved kitchen table. And it was a long time before I thought about the fact that I was one piece down on that Hogwarts Lego set. My son and I joked about whether to order a replacement Lego piece or just monitor the business at the other end. We laughed big laughs - the kind you you laugh when you know that your family is going to be okay.
