Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Guest

We had a house guest over the weekend. Casper is my brother's dog, and a bit on the shy side... something we don't get a whole lot of around here. Actually, before this past week, Casper hadn't been so thrilled about spending time with us, preferring his owner - hands down.

But after a day of living in our crazy (loud) household he put any fears I may have had to rest and started to adjust, becoming quite playful and friendly. Ellie was really pretty good too. She was cautious of him, as she is with all animals. (I think given her druthers, she'd avoid any and all animals completely.) But, if Casper was sitting quietly on my lap, or was confined to the entry way, behind the gate, she was just fine and would approach him and even try to pat his head. It was only if he jumped up (playfully, but too aggressive for her taste) did she have an emotional moment.

She has never, ever, been a fan of animals... although she's never had a bad experience. She's just naturally NOT an animal person... She's know our dog Jackson for her entire life, and yet she's still cautious of him. It's just who she is. She is Benett and Gavin's polar opposite in that regard.

When Benett was a baby, Monte and I made the difficult decision to move Jackson outside on a permanent basis. Even though both of the boys loved playing with dog (and vise versa), having a big, shedding dog in the house with a toddler was something we just decided wasn't the best for us. And given our location, and all of the space for him to explore, being outside was something that our lab has enjoyed.

But, having a dog in the house again made me realize how much I've missed that kind of company. With my change in schedule, I even caught myself daydreaming about what it might be like to have a small dog of our own, to keep me company during the day... There is something calming about pets, and for those of us with a habit of talking to ourselves... well, talking to a dog seems a bit more 'normal.'

There won't be a dog in our immediate future, but for now, I think I'll extend an open invitation to Casper. He can come to visit anytime... I just know we'll have lots to talk about.


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