A Boy and A Dog

Nathan was born on 9/18/09. Tom (Grandpa) and I were at the hospital, with Becca (Auntie Becca), when Nathan was just 45 minutes old, and Jen was still in the delivery room. It was an amazing experience for all of us. We all got to hold the baby, and hug Ben and Jen. We all admired and fell in love with Nathan, who had not even been cleaned up yet. He was sleeping. So new. So sweet.

The next day, Becca and I drove up to Loves Park near Rockford to get her new puppy. He was just six weeks old. The mother dog was a lab mix and the father dog was an American bulldog. Weighing only five pounds when we got him, Duke was one of the smaller pups in a litter of 11, so he was used to lots of snuggling and many playmates. I drove, so Becca could hold him on the way home. He wasn't happy in the car. In fact, one block before we got back to her house, he threw up! He has hated cars ever since.

Because of Becca and Adam's work schedules, I've been spending lots of time with Duke almost every week since he was brought into our family. He has spent many days at our house, and even a couple of nights. He's a funny dog. He is affectionate, and loves Tom and I. Actually, he loves Tom more than me, because Tom plays with him and gives him treats more often than I do. Duke is curious. He follows me around the house, curious about everything I do. It's as if he says, "What' ya doin'?" "Can I see?" "What's that?" "Let me help!" all day long.

Duke is 40 pounds now. However, he is a very timid dog. He is wary of people until he gets to know them. Thunder terrifies him. The first time it thundered this spring, he was at our house. Becca was there too. After the first clap of thunder, Duke ran to the front door, barking furiously. He seemed to think that thunder was something trying to get in to the house.

And of course, I have been spending 3 days a week with Nathan since Jen went back to work in January. This baby and this puppy have given us a lot of joy over the past few months. For several reasons they had not met each other - except once when Nathan had still been too little to notice the dog. I'm convinced that they will be great friends, when they have a chance to spend some time together.

For Mother's Day, we all ended up at Becca's house. Nathan got very excited when he saw the dog. Duke got very excited when he saw Nathan.

When Nathan gets excited, he grins and squeals and kicks his legs real fast. Jen was sitting holding Nathan. Duke went up to him timidly, tail wagging. Nathan grinned really big, and reached out for the dog. Duke licked his fingers, making Nathan giggle. Then the baby kicked his legs, obviously thrilled to be near the dog. Duke, reacting to Nathan's furiously kicking legs, bowed down and stuck his butt up, like dogs do when they are playing, and barked.

Nathan, startled, cried hard. I guess they will have to be a bit older before they are good friends.