When Bobby and I were first married, we rented an apartment, and then a house. Thus, no pets. We'd been married just less than 2 years when we bought our own house, and quickly decided we needed a dog. I can't remember why we settled on a Labrador retriever--maybe he does, but he's not here--but I do remember scouring the classifieds for lab puppies.
And I remember clearly the day we brought her home--she was about 6 or 8 weeks old, tiny little thing that slept on the car seat of my beloved white Jeep the whole hour drive home. My brother had sent me a ton of old Sports Illustrated's to use in my classroom, so I skimmed through them looking for names. Final decision? Kobe, after the famous Kobe Bryant. The Lakers had won the NBA title that year, and his name was all over the Sports Illustrated's. It was the only name we could agree on, and the fact that it was a boy name for a girl dog didn't phase us.
We loved that dog--took her on walks, I taught her to sit, lay down, shake, high-five, roll over and play dead, she slept with us. When I was on bed rest with Macy for A MONTH, she and I did nothing but lay in bed and I read books and she slept. It was the most peaceful month I've ever had. We brought two crying, poopy diapered children into the mix, and she didn't bat an eye.
She's been a wonderful dog and companion, even if she gets in the trash and steals food right out of the girls hands. Today when playing in the snow, the girls covered her in snow for fun, and she just ran around in circles.
And then 7 years later, a friend needed to give a dog a home. I'd been after Bobby to get another dog when her email came through. I showed him, never expecting him to agree. This dog was a barker, and I needed some assurance when Bobby was overnight at the fire station. Gabriel was 8 at the time, and I worried about how the two dogs would get along. They did fabulous--Gabriel was more bothered by Bobby than he was Kobe!
Gabriel has become a huge part of our family too--he is our watchdog, our dress up dog (he looks pretty hot in a princess crown and Snow White dress) and sleeps in Macy's bed most of the time. He wants to eat at 8 p.m. sharp, and lets you know. We love him even though he eats our underwear and socks.
My dad doesn't think dogs can understand you, but us dog lovers know better. "Wanna go outside?" "Wanna go for a walk?" elicits automatic response. They know when they are in trouble, when you bring out the suitcases that you are going away for a while, they know when it is bedtime. Every morning Gabriel knows I will check on Kaylin before heading downstairs, and he leads me in her room to check on her too.
But, and this was the original intent of this post that has somehow turned into the Longest Post Ever, as much as I love these two dogs, I REALLY love how much Macy and Kaylin love these dogs. They follow them around, love on them, feed them, always want to take them on walks, and want to play with them long past the time when the dogs are tired. They call them their babies, and get mad at me if I scold one of the dogs. "Mom! Don't yell at my baby like that!" Kaylin likes to leave the tv on so Gabe can watch it while we are gone. I love how much they love the dogs.
It warmed my heart to watch them play outside in the snow with them today. Macy first wanted her picture with Gabriel, and threw herself down on the snow to lay next to him.
And the next three pictures show a progression--Macy threw a snowball at him, then said, "Oh, you sweet baby!" and lunged towards him. Then tell me the last picture is not the sweetest thing you've ever seen.
The dogs are getting older--Gabriel is 10, and Kobe will be 9 in April. They aren't spry chickens anymore. After all their romping in the snow, they will sleep all day tomorrow. The day either one of them dies is not going to be a pretty day at our house. We might even get to see Bobby cry a little. Maybe.
