Saturday, March 27, 2010

All Of The Immediate Family Has Been Met




The last sibling in the family waiting to meet Brutus was his big human brother Nick. Nick flew in from Columbus, Ohio, last Friday and has spent the week getting to know the big goof ball, and I think that with all of the kids being home at various times during the last two weeks, Brutus has been an extra big goof ball.

Nick has never been a big dog lover. It may stem all the way back to being bit in the back by a neighbor's dog when he was little, and it could just be that he was raised with a house full of cats, and us cat lovers can be a little different breed!! Some of the dogs that Nick has been around tend to be crotch sniffers and jumpers, and honestly, it gets annoying. We also are not fond of "yappers" in this house, so even though Brutus isn't typically any of those things, I was a little nervous about the two of them meeting, and getting along. Thankfully, I didn't need to be worried.

Brutus has a way of charming people, and he worked his magic on Nick. By the middle of Nick's visit, Brutus had convinced Nick that it would be in his best interest to take him for very long walks, to rub his belly, and to give him treats. It got to the point that if Nick was gone for the evening, Brutus would lay down on the rug and wait for him.

We have had a baby gate on Nick's bedroom door so the cats can have one room where they can go and get some sunshine without being afraid, so Brutus hasn't actually been able to get into Nick's room. This hasn't made him very happy. He would love nothing more than to jump up on his bed and snuggle up with him, but it isn't going to happen. One night during Nick's visit, Nick spent the night at his friend Jason's house. Jason was moving into a new home the next day, and Nick wanted to be there and ready to help him with the move. Brutus was a mess. He would go down and look in Nick's room, and he could see that his things were still there, but when he went to the entry way, his shoes would be gone. If you remember from previous posts, Brutus is fearful of the basement, but that night he slept downstairs on the futon waiting for Nick. I couldn't believe it. He woke me up at 5:30 in the morning, which he had never done, so I let him outside, but he went right back to the futon after doing is route to check to see if Nick was home. Again, I'm not sure what will happen after Nick leaves. This will be the last child to go home after spring breaks, and Brutus will be back to just me during the day. When I think back to the first time that Brutus was left with just me during the day, I have visions of a shredded pillow, and white fluff flying everywhere. Let's hope that he has moved beyond that!!

In the meantime, other than trying to run away from me during doggy school, and trying to jump out a closed second story window, I think he is doing pretty well! At this point in the paragraph, I have to insert a "laugh out loud" because if I put too much thought into it, I will cry. I tend to go to the dark side and think that he isn't happy being here, and would rather jump out a window than be with me, so I'm trying to not go there.

I know that dogs have a great sense of direction, so Nick, if he ends up at your door in Ohio, you know that he just loves you that much and you will need to become a dog person. ;)

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