Chance cruises through most days on the edge of sleep, until something piques his interest. Nothing grabs his attention better than a baby. Any baby. We’re talking zero to a hundred in a nano-second.
It came as a surprise, Chance’s baby obsession. Because for the first couple years of life with Chance, there were no babies around.
Wow, he is sure a dog’s dog, we decided. Chance focuses intensely on other dogs, especially puppies. We had in the past always kept dogs two at a time, starting fresh after each pair crossed the rainbow bridge. But after Chance arrived we put off getting a second dog. If Chance got his own puppy, he might never speak to us again. Not intentionally, he simply wouldn’t see us.
And then a couple years ago, with our younger generation into their twenties, we started seeing the occasional baby over for a visit. It has been delightful to play with babies again, and no one has loved their visits more than Chance.
Our dear K recently flew in for a visit with her…you guessed it…six month-old BABY! Oh boy Chance! A real BABY!
She didn’t just stay for an hour either, this baby stayed for days. Chance was in heaven. He constantly attended his baby F, observing diaper changes, supervising feeding sessions and willingly accepting (and licking industriously) grabby little hands. He had to be checked again and again as his enthusiasm exceeded the situation and threatened to overwhelm our little bright eyed little girlie with his doggie love.
Luckily baby has three doggos of her own at home. She handled the canine onslaught beautifully. So did her momma, correcting Chance calmly, appropriately and patiently.
When baby cried, as all babies do from time to time, Chance would become frantic. His relief was likewise greater than any of the rest of ours, each time baby settled down. When baby went into her bedroom and the door shut, Chance stayed on guard until she came out again. Every morning as soon as he got up, he ran down the hall to station himself outside her door.
When her visit ended and baby F left for home, Chance slept for two days straight.
Babies are tiring eh Chance! You just wait a couple years till she is running around the house after you to dress you up for an afternoon tea party.
Now that is cute! I’ve heard of horses greeting their pregnant owners by sniffing the face, then the belly. They’ll even gather around for it. Simply amazing.