Kitten Connection

I don't want to jinx myself, but I think it's safe to say that Kitsune (the Kitten, if you will) is our dog.

I mean, technically she has been ours for about a year. But just because you feed it, shelter it, and scoop up its poop with your hands doesn't mean it loves you back. Pounds would be much happier places if this were the case. Maybe this only makes sense to Shiba parents. I'm not sure.

Bear went through a warming-up period where Casey and I would ask each other, "do you think we're his people?" It's not surprising that the first time we answered, "yeah, I think so" is a world apart from the ooey gooey love-fest that he has turned into a year and a half later.

Bear time is clearly much faster than Kitsune time. It took him a matter of a few months to get a, "yeah, I think so" and she has taken approximately a year. Kit surveys, analyzes, inspects all situations with great caution - including us. The only exceptions I've ever seen involve cheese, chicken, or Bear, all of which she loves recklessly.

Some of the signs that we are part of Kitsune's family:

• She tends to do what we ask (side note for all labrador or retriever owners: this is a BIG deal)
• During a thunder storm, she will seek us out for comfort as opposed to the dark recesses behind/under our furniture
• She has revealed that she prefers to be the little spoon
• When caught in a social pickle at the dog park, she will come to us when we call instead of making us chase her around like fools
• We are certain that her tail wags - because we've witnessed it
• She clearly prefers us to strangers

Maybe there will be a day in the future (and I hope there is) when we look back and think, "and we thought she had warmed up then." Until that day, I'm quite pleased with the fact that she likes us alright.

It's funny to think, but it's hard to remember what our lives were like before we were 4.