Chester – Day 18
Oh boy!! Oh boy!!
New parents are always told that their children must learn to walk before they can run. The same is said of adults who are learning new things, or trying to accomplish a goal. We’ve had people tell us that same thing as it relates to our dogs. Prior to today I accepted that as a fact.
Well … today Chester decided to walk, run, hit a home run and spike the ball in the end zone all at the same time!! There’s no stopping this dog now. He’s kicking butt and taking names.
I usually write this journal (or blog if you prefer) during the morning or early afternoon regarding happenings from the previous day. I don’t take notes per se but once I start writing, the thoughts of Chester’s actions just seem to flow. Today I was having a difficult time coming up with anything of importance to share with you. Yesterday was a good day for Chester. He seems to be settling into his new life with some degree of comfort and maybe even happiness. It’s difficult to tell for sure from a dog that spends so much time under a table or in a corner.
Prior to lunch today I’d been working on the computer and writing some generic things about Chester that I thought might work in his blog. I didn’t realize what time it was and needed to take him downstairs to go potty. I would leave him with Glenn and Casey while I came back upstairs to make lunch. Note: we still don’t have a method of letting Chester notify us of potty break needs, we just hook up his leash and he walks nicely with us to the back yard every so often. It works for now. Like I mentioned yesterday, we make up the game and rules as we go along.
Here’s the picture: Chester’s leash is hooked up, he walks with me downstairs to the back yard where Glenn is touching up a painted fence and Casey is lying in the grass on the south side of the lawn. Chester goes pee in the grass on the north side of the patio. Glenn and I start up a casual conversation and all of a sudden we stop and watch the dogs with wonder. Chester is running towards Casey and she chases him the other direction. Chester runs back and STEALS Casey’s pork bone from the lawn and RUNS with it, romping actually … TAIL WAGGING. He puts the bone down under the patio table and continues to run back and forth in the yard with Casey, tail STILL wagging. They romp and play for several minutes until they’re tired.
Casey never seemed to worry about losing the bone, although Glenn gave her a different one. Chester wasn’t particularly interested in chewing the bone either. He simply used it as a tool to get her to chase him so they could play … and it worked!! This is a day Casey has been hoping for, when she would have a friend and playmate out of this deal.
So … this was Chester’s first time running and playing with Casey on his own (although he tried pacing us at a distance a week or so ago). First time wagging his tail, heck, it’s the first time that tail has been outstretched at all (usually tucked between his legs). First time he’s initiated any kind of play with Casey or us.
And all the while … he was SMILING
Later in the day our little “thief” decided it was time to play with soft squeaky toys as well and “stole” two bears from the family room floor and took them under his table with him. Chewed and squeaked and snuggled (all another first). They stayed there all day, Casey has other toys and didn’t bother to try and “retrieve” them. Maybe her sense of respect for Chester goes beyond her natural retriever instincts. More likely she’s a peaceful soul who doesn’t mind letting a lost one have some comfort with her toy. Who says they have to walk before they run? Chester says it’s more fun to save it up for one big splash of excitement and entertainment.
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