Dog Sitting

One of my friends that I work with asked if we could keep her dog for the weekend while she was out of town. Braden had been over to her house once and she knew that he was good with her little chihuahua-mix Sadie. What she didn't know is that for some reason my girls have become deathly afraid of dogs of any size. I figured that with some effort we would be able to keep the dog and the girls separated and survive the weekend. Sadie arrived Thursday morning. I had talked to the girls and surprisingly they didn't scream when Terri arrived with her dog. They did, however, start screaming once she left and it seemed to be continuous for the remainder of the day. I spent the whole day holding one or both girls. They spent a great deal of time on the kitchen counters and on the dining room table (which is counter height). I am sure that poor Sadie was thinking "this is not what I bargained for."

(Chloe eating her lunch on the counter)

Sometime very early Friday morning everything changed COMPLETELY. The girls chased after Sadie all day. They hugged her, they carried her, they fed her by hand. The other kids were completely flabbergasted to see the transformation when the got home from school. They figured their little sisters had been abducted by aliens.

I have spent a fair amount of time, since Friday morning, holding Sadie to protect her from her adoring fans. She's been a good sport but has followed me everywhere I go. Whenever she can make a break for it she heads for my bedroom and curls up under my bed or in my closet while I work on the computer.

(Her favorite comfort item - my workout clothes on the floor of my closet.)

Braden has enjoyed having Sadie's kennel in his bedroom. His bedroom even got cleaned and has stayed clean for the occasion. Braden laughed because my friend Terri packed dress up clothes for Sadie. We laughed because Braden tried them all on her.
Sure enough, there were tears when Sadie left this afternoon from the same people who cried when she showed up. I did tell Terri that this might be the best of pet ownership -- just have fun for a few days and then let someone else carry the burden of the vet bills and other responsibilities. Hopefully Sadie will come stay again.