Ethan and BJ

Mama has been watching Ethan Fisher one day per week unless his mom needs some extra time without the distraction a nearly two-year-old can cause. Concurrently, she has been puppy sitting a very young Yorkie for a neighbor of ours. The dog is small enough to sleep in one of my shoes and has very nearly fit neatly under one or the other of them as I took him out to use the grassy areas to relieve himself.
As I was working at my computer the other night he backed himself up against my foot and snuggled in. It was a little unnerving. An animal that small has to have extremely quick reflexes to stay alive, so every time I moved the dog would shoot away like a rat, evaluate the danger and move back into a newly snuggled position against my foot. Not the most comfortable arrangement for me.
Ethan loved the dog, so much so in fact, that we had to keep a constant eye on his interactions with the frail eighteen ounce animal. I have never understood the tendency of girls to pinch and boys to hit or strike at an animal – especially a small one. Ethan was no different so we had to get him past his inherited nature in order to spare the dog. Once that was done he adopted the dog as a child to him in a manner of speaking.
Mama told me she came into the room and found him with the dog held in both hands being raised and lowered while he whispered, “Whee!” The dog was not enjoying the activity as much as he was. At least he was not tossing the dog up and down as his father would do him in their play.
Mama had to put a stop to that little game and the rescued animal ran to the bathroom and would have closed the door if possible. They made up later because just as it is impossible for a puppy to resist the attention of a little one, it is impossible for a little one to resist the attentions of a puppy.
It is a match made in Heaven – and that is fortunate since more than one puppy has ended up there for lack of supervision in that early play.