A girl and her dog

I just spent some time with a good friend of mine who is expecting a baby girl any day now.  She has a Boston Terrier who has some "issues" and she's really concerned about what will happen when the baby comes.  This made me think back to all the worries I had about Scooter before Olivia was born.  I was so afraid that he would jump on her, knock her over, destroy her toys, grab things out of her hand, and even (gasp!) bite her.  He has never bitten a person but can be aggressive toward other dogs, especially when it comes to protecting his food and toys.   I was concerned that he wouldn't understand a baby is a little person.   I prayed about this a lot, and I have to say, now that Olivia is almost 15 months old, I just can't believe how well things have turned out! Scooter and Olivia are like two peas in a pod!  Olivia is such a dog person already.  "Dog" was one of her first words, quickly followed by "no, no dog!", "get down, dog! and even "dog broke!"  (She has already learned that she can blame Scooter for breaking things.)  Oh, and lets not forget "dog book".  One of her favorite books is Dr Seuss's Go Dog Go.   Olivia says, "Bye dog!" every time we leave the house to go anywhere.  She knows Scooter's name ("Tooter") but mostly she just calls him "dog".

Scooter became especially fond of Olivia right around the time she started eating solid foods :)   Sometimes, Olivia will ask for "more cheese" or something after I know she's full.  Then she will give a sneaky little smile and say "more cheese dog?"  Scooter has never knocked Olivia over, and even if he did, I know Olivia would forgive him right away!   I thank God for how well this pair has hit it off.  I feel like it has been great for Olivia to have a rough and tumble dog like Scooter.  Because Olivia's an only child, she's still not too used to other kids, and sometimes cries when they make loud noises or even look at her the wrong way.   We can't have play dates all the time, but we do have a dog all the time!  I feel like Scooter helps to make sure she's not too much of a sensitive little girly girl.  She's learning to stick up for herself, that's for sure!  And Scooter is learning how to behave around this fun little person, too.  Keep up the good work, Scooter!