Leading the pack

As you can see from the pic, Evy lives in a house with four dogs, also one cat (not pictured). She calls all the dogs iggie, and the cat kia.

A typical morning starts with her sucking loudly on her thumb. Then comes, "mom...mom...mom...". I get her from the crib and she looks around for the shepard whom has taken Nate's spot on the bed. She waves her hands and says, "Hi Iggie, Hi Iggie!". We go out to the living room where she finds the husky and kitty, usually sleeping side by side. She waves her hands and says, "Hi Iggie, Hi Kia. Hi Kia, Hi Iggie". Then we go into the kitchen for breakfast. She see the rottie, "Hi Iggie, Hi Iggie!". Evy drops food as she eats. With each piece she stares at the floor. Soon the wienie dog comes to clean up. "Hi Iggie, Hi Iggie!" she says waving her hands about. Grandma appears. Evy may give her a smile between bites, but not always. When Evy and the wienie dog have finished her breakfast she will bang on her try and say "mom...mom...mom...". This is a typical start to the day.



Evy loves her pets. She looks for them in every room. She is always excited to see them. They have been her motivation, her passion, her muse. Because of them she has learned how to lick, crawl, stand, share, and how to pet, not pull, soft fur. The dogs know that she is the boss. But they are always free to leave when they tire of her attention. This has led to another lesson. Evelyn has not quit figured why the dogs sometimes flee in mass when she crawls in their direction. She turns to me with a long face as if to say, "Why?". I shrug and tell her that they will come around when they want their ears pulled. And indeed they do. By not pushing the relationships, just letting them develop (with supervision and rules) each and every pet comes to Evy to get their needs met. The wienie dog relies on the food she drops. The shepard knows she is always interested in playing with his ball. The husky and cat each know Evy will always pay attention, and the good ol' rottie is full of kisses to share. Evy never turns them away.

So this Thanksgiving I am giving thanks to my pack. To the big grumpy one I send to work with a sandwich and a handful of nicotine gum. To the littlest one; whom calls me mom. To the wise ones; who give me help and advise. And especially to the furry ones; the devoted ones. Thank You.