Before I had June, my dogs were my children. I cuddled with them, played with them, went for long hikes in the woods with them, took pride in their accomplishments and generally talked to them like a character on Sesame Street. (If you have pets and no kids at home, you know what I’m talking about.)
And then June came along, and suddenly Cowboy and Sunnie were relegated to mere house pets. It was a stark transition. At the time I didn’t have much time to think about what was happening because I was too busy tending to a squalling creature whose needs outpaced those of the animals by a factor of five thousand. But there were clear indications things were different, like when Cowboy sidled up to me as I cradled the baby on the couch, looking up at me with an expression like that of a child facing down the bad, neglectful mom on Dr. Phil. “How could you?” the imploring expression said. “Don’t forget about me.” And the baby would start crying and I’d forget about Cowboy. Pretty soon, he stopped coming up to me altogether, preferring to stick closer than ever to Jake, who was still his unwavering best friend. I felt terrible about this. Cowboy was my pal. I felt like I’d ditched him.
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Can’t wait for your book to come out to read more about this amazing dog and your equally amazing family!
Great piece, by the way, in The Daily Beast. You don’t/didn’t write much on your blog about how Jake reintegrated when he came home – I guess all was well. But the info about Sohla is very interesting. Thanks for the insight.
Hmmm…out of all that I saw the “yet!” comment – you trying to tell us all something Miss Jessie?
We too had the dog, before the kids, and then we had kids, kids and more kids and with each one the dog had the “you’ve GOT to be kidding me” look. He got used to the children, but never really liked it. He was deteriorating very quickly and we decided to put him down…it was just me, Mark and the dog (Hampton) – just like it was when we were first together. I still miss him. Although we’ve been blessed with an amazing dog…Blue – she’s a black lab, shepherd mix – she loves the kids and is so patient with them. I’m glad that June and Solha are finding their balance.
Animals understand kids. They will take way more from a kid than they ever would from an adult. It justs take June and Solha awhile to understand they belong together. What could possibly be more fun than knocking over a pesty wobbly toddler? Especially one with munchies. Soon they will be so tight you and Jake will feel left out. Love that tail of Solha’s, such curl! And—good luck on that project you made reference to. it will happen.
I used to have a little Jack Russell female that had been an “only dog” of a “single mother” for 2 years when all of a sudden she had a DAD and two sisters.. 5 and 9. It was funny, the youngest used to carry her around like a football under her arm. I never imagined she would be that patient..but there she would be akwardly slung under an arm.. just bouncing away as she was fun around the yard!
I read the Daily Beast article and tears happened. We’ve been pretty lucky, I think. Our war dog Chuck was nothing like what I expected (I basically expected your experience), and the only time he showed any sign of not being just an average dog from the shelter was when a low-flying helicopter buzzed us. He bolted for cover and I felt guilty for…whatever. I don’t know. Because he was scared. I told my husband that if he deploys again, he’s allowed to save another one though; Chuck is the best dog I’ve ever lived with.