One of the best dog stories I've ever read is "The Art of Racing In The Rain" by Garth Stein. I've read the book twice, and given it as a gift to friends. Definitely worth reading if you have a dog, love your dog, or are thinking about getting a dog. (And if you have a dog, then please love your dog.)
I think about that book every time it has rained since we adopted Savannah. Not that it's rained all that much since September 12th, but on the rainy days we've had, the sky has opened up and poured forth with soaking sopping sloppy rain.
The first time I had to walk Savannah in the rain, she played in every puddle, splashing and drinking and just having a grand time while I was standing there with her leash in one hand, an umbrella in the other, and trying not to lose patience with that very happy soaking-wet puppy. I had been spoiled with our dog Gracie who hated to get wet so her rainy-day outings were less than a minute long in the backyard grass.
Today's rain is another soaking sloppy pouring rain, but Savannah is seven months old now and she has reconsidered her rainy-day activities. She waited till the rain quit pouring this morning and I took her out on our usual walk up the road. Before we got even halfway up to our barn, she had done everything she needed to do and she promptly turned herself around to walk back towards the house. No splashing. No drinking from the puddles. All she wanted was to get back to the house. I kept telling her what a good girl she was because I couldn't have been more pleased.
Such a difference in just two months' time. When we got up on the porch, I had Savannah's towel ready there and I dried off her legs and paws, her belly, and then wrapped her all up in that extra-large towel and told her she looked like Mother Theresa. At that moment, I had my face too close to hers and she licked me right on the chin... a great big slobbering lick. I draw the line at dogs licking me, especially on my face, but I think Savannah was very happy with her puppy self at that particular moment, so I resisted the urge to say "Yuck!" and wipe my chin off with tissues. (But I certainly did just that when we got back into the house and Savannah wasn't looking.)
My husband and I were talking last night about the changes in Savannah's sense of confidence since that first day we brought her home. She is no longer afraid of every little blessed noise that she hears in the house, and about the only time she will jump up and run away is when she sees me with the vacuum cleaner. There are times when Savannah is in a deep sleep and she doesn't hear one of us coming into a room and when we get up close to her, she will quickly get up and try and scramble away but then she sees that it's either myself or my husband and we'll get a "Oh, it's only you" look and she'll go back to sleep.
Savannah's relationships with the cats has also improved greatly. With Gatsby, who follows us up and down the road on most of our morning walks, Savannah will rub her face against Gatsby's head when he's waiting for us by the mailbox. On mostly every morning, Gatsby will walk with us part of the way, then turn around and wait for us by our mailbox near the driveway. When we come back from the walk, Gatsby bows his head down and sits there waiting for Savannah to rub the top of his head with the side of her puppy face. It's just very cute, very gentle and deliberate, and each of them seem to rely on this morning ritual.
With Mickey, our once-inside cat who developed ill-mannered litter-box habits in his old age, Savannah knows that she can play with Mickey when he hides under the tablecloth that's on the little table by our back door. Mickey runs under that tablecloth every morning when Savannah and I are coming back from our walk. All that's visible of Mickey is his tail sticking out from under the cloth, and Savannah seems to judge the position of Mickey's head by the placement of his tail. Savannah will stand there rubbing heads with Mickey (with the tablecloth between them) and that cat's tail begins to move from side to side and then his paw comes up and Mickey is touching Savannah's face through the barrier of the tablecloth. Savannah seems to enjoy the game because her tail will be wagging and I'll have to nudge her towards the door or I'd be out there for an hour.
Sweet Pea is our inside cat, and I was worried at first that he and Savannah wouldn't get along very well. I think Sweet Pea was very surprised when he discovered that he was not the only four-legged 'kid' in this house after Savannah arrived. Sweet Pea is very tolerant of change, however, and he just kept his distance until Savannah learned that she needed to be gentle with all of the cats and they weren't here to be her toys. As each week went by, Sweet Pea became more confident around the puppy, and Savannah learned that Sweet Pea was here first and needed some respect and consideration just because he's a cat and much much smaller than her ever-growing puppy self.
At the beginning of Savannah's life with us, I was thoroughly worried about my husband's acceptance of her, and Savannah's acceptance of Gary as well. They both had their issues: Gary wanted another Gracie-dog and Savannah seemed to be extremely reluctant around men. Thankfully, they have both come down to earth. My husband knows now that Gracie was a one-of-a-kind dog, truly his dog and his alone, and I think the disappointment in Savannah's hesitation with him showed in his face every time he looked at her. And puppies aren't stupid... they can read people like the proverbial book.
Everything changed when my husband started to accept Savannah as the puppy she is, and the dog she could become... and Savannah realized that not all men were out to hurt her. When we sit in the TV room at night, Savannah gets up on the sofa between me and my husband, and she cuddles and smiles and does her best to get as close to the two of us as she possibly can. Savannah has grown into a rather large puppy, and the weight of her on our laps is truly felt, but appreciated.
Puppies need patience, and love, and Savannah's life with us is filled with that. And without a doubt, Savannah has filled our lives with puppy love, and then some.
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