Brutus just had his first visit with Grandpa and Grandma from Illinois (Don's parents). They made brownie points right off the bat by bringing a wonderful red and white rope ball for him to chew on and play fetch with. He loved it, and he loved them. I'm guessing that Grandpa was probably given instructions ahead of time that he wasn't supposed to feed Brutus any table scraps, but since he IS the grandparent, we may have looked the other way a couple times when a little piece of ham or cheese may have disappeared. :)
On Friday, Grandma Marge and I spent the day in town shopping, so Brutus spent the day pouting by the front door. He really hates it when I leave him home alone (with dad). He also isn't fond of going downstairs, at the lake or at home. It's hard to say what is behind this dislike of basements, but on Friday night when Dad and Grandpa went to the bar to meet up with our friends to play some pool, Brutus did come down and sit on the big chair with me and watch a movie. At one point he even went over and crawled up on the couch with Grandma. It was adorable. The other biggie for the day.....BRUTUS RANG HIS POOCHIE BELLS WHEN HE NEEDED TO GO OUTSIDE. We are so proud of him. Smart boy!!
Saturday Don took Brutus for a big walk, and then we just hung around the house. Grandma plays a mean game of double solitaire, so we spent the afternoon doing that, and Dad and Grandpa had been working very hard on a 2000 piece puzzle. They didn't get too far on the puzzle, but they got a lot of sorting done, and spent some great quality time together. Brutus spent the day getting belly rubs and playing fetch and getting treats. Life is good. He tried to help me beat Grandma at solitaire by leaning on her arm for some lovin while we were playing, but it didn't work. She still beat me.
Today we're heading back home. Don's parents left earlier this morning. You'll notice in the top picture that it looks like Brutus is jumping on Grandpa Dick, but what he does is actually stand up very gently and gives a hug and a closed mouth kiss. Even though it's very very sweet, we're trying to discourage it because some people get downright scared if a dog does this, and he's also big enough to knock over a child. But, I gotta tell ya, it really is cute. Someone had to have loved him at some time. He has so many mannerisms of pure love about him, and he's so gentle.
Brutus seems to look for the kitties when we don't bring them to the lake. I haven't brought them with the last couple weekends. It seems like they kind of need a little break from him, and a chance to have the whole house to themselves, so as much as I miss my girls, I have left them home. Bernice (the one who has been hiding behind the furnace since Brutus came home) is getting a little better. Once Brutus and I are cozied in for the night, Don brings Bernice up from the basement (out of hiding) and brings her to the bedroom to say "hello" to Brutus. She acts very scared and fusses, but each day seems to get a little better. The last night that we did this, I held her on my chest, and Brutus was laying right next to me. She tried to run, but I just talked gently to her, and Brutus, and we stayed that way for at least three minutes, so it's progress. Sophie and Princess are doing much better with Brutus. If anything, they are sassy and need to mellow out a bit. I think they hurt the big guys feelings.
So anyway, I better get back to packing up, but it was a wonderful weekend for Brutus, and us! Brutus really loves it at the lake, and I can't wait until spring is here, and we can really work on his boundaries and try to teach him where our actual yard is. Thankfully he knows everyone in the neighborhood, so if he does get loose, they would know him. We just don't want to go there.
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