Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Two boys and a small dog
Today I will be taking my New Jersey Peeps back to Lambert St Louis Airport. They will hopefully get home for a quiet weekend before 2024 puts its stamp on their lives. I know it’s been a weird Christmas for them since their other grandparents were basically out of commission and missed out on hosting Jackie and the boys. Their grandma did get to see them, though. She took them to the Magic House yesterday, which is always a fascinating place to visit.
The boys do not have a pet at home. Since they are big puppies themselves, they don’t need a four legged one to add to the busyness and chaos. For most of their stay here, Mollie Dog was being boarded at her vet’s place where they know her well. We thought a lot about boarding her while the boys were here, mostly for her sake. She is so very anxious around strangers, let alone little ones, so we opted to have her stay in a mostly quiet place.
But yesterday was the day to spring her from the kennel. We decided that even though the boys would be here, Mollie deserved to come home. We agreed that this would be a grand experiment and hoped that everyone would get along. We had spoken to the boys and explained that people had treated Mollie in mean ways and that she was afraid of strangers. We wanted them to meet her and agreed that when they were here we would keep her on a leash.
In they came. Their knock at the door had led to Mollie’s usual barking barrage, so they entered cautiously. I told them to just ignore her at first, that she would settle down, and that she would not hurt them. Because they haven’t been around dogs, I think they were just as wary as Mollie was when she finally settled down. She watched them carefully from behind Jan’s legs. Her tail was going a mile a minute and we told the boys that was a sign that she was ok and happy.
Both boys were clearly nonplussed at the sight of this dog they had heard so much about. At first they gave her a wide berth. Then I sliced up part of a banana and invited them to participate in a ritual as old as time: the pleasure of feeding another living being. They were skittish about it, while Mollie eagerly watched them each take a piece of banana. I had them hold their hands flat and placed a treat in each one. Cameron tried first and kind of jumped a little when Mollie gently took the banana from the palm of his hand. Xander was not as hesitant. Both of them giggled when Mollie was so gentle with them, and they begged to give her more banana pieces.
Feeding her made them a little less hesitant to be close to her. She, of course, was grateful to have been given treats and was eager to sniff the boys. I explained that dogs have a keen sense of smell, that this is one way dogs get information about their surroundings. Some intense sniffing occurred as the boys gingerly offered hands and feet to be inspected. We could tell that everyone’s comfort level was increasing by the minute.
I gave the boys their lunch, which was of great interest to Mollie. The only cautionary advice was for Xander, who was eating grapes. We asked him to be very careful not to drop a grape because Mollie would gobble it and it might make her sick. For some reason, even a small amount of grape material can result in a toxic state of kidney failure in canines.
The introduction of two boys to a small dog was a success. By the time they left for the Magic house, Cameron declared that he loves Mollie. He has asked that the next time they visit would we please not put her in the kennel. I think Mollie would agree that she can co-exist in the same space with these small, sometimes squeaky people. It was fun to watch all involved.