Wordless Wednesday 87 - Bella misses her handsome hound...

Here's hoping she can get together with her beautiful beau, Gus, again very soon... Isn't he lovely?

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I believe in dog.

Running behind and no time has become my standard state of affairs these days. So I thought I'd share something I wrote recently in response to a blog post over at Dogster.com. The post posed the question "Are dogs the new kids?"

Personally, I don't view my dogs as my children. Yes, I light-heartedly call myself mommy and refer to Jan as daddy but I don't honestly think Bella is my child. You might even still catch me using the word "owner" in relation to my dogs although I don't really believe one can 'own' a living being.

But not thinking my dog is a child does not, in any way, diminish her worth in my eyes. Dogs are dogs and children are children and each life has value intrinsic to itself. In fact, and here's what I wanted to share:

I believe dogs are a representation of just about every human relationship we will ever know.

As puppies, they are like children: in need of our care, our guidance, our support.

As they mature, they become more like our partners and spouses: someone we have chosen to share our life with through good times and bad, accepting them for all their faults and foibles.

And finally, as they age, they begin to represent our parents: we learn to come to terms with watching them lose their vitality and cope with their failing health. We begin to prepare ourselves for loss and a life without them.

No, my dog is not my child. But she's none the-less for being my dog.

For those of you in the know, yes, this image has been altered to protect the not exactly innocent.
Let's keep that our little secret, okay?

Wordless Wednesday 53 - Glamorous Gus

Wordless Wednesday 48 - Gus, the flower child

Wordless Wednesday 46 - Come caption Gus and Bella

Happy 4th of July, folks. 

(I'd have some pictures of us celebrating but we generally end up spending it in the basement hiding Bella from all the fireworks.)

Wordless Wednesday 17 - Gorgeous Gus

For your viewing pleasure, allow me to present once again, Bella's best beau, Gus!

Gus and Bella, a love story

Finally, the post you've all been waiting for since I introduced him in a Wordless Wednesday a while back. Today I get to tell you the story of Romeo er, Gus.

Once Upon a Time...

I've mentioned before how lucky we were to find Sheila, our brilliant trainer who is just as good at reading people as she is at reading dogs. We have her to thank for introducing us to our now good friends, Cindy and Rick, and their beautiful dogs, Gus the Borzoi and Molly the Greyhound. We'll meet Molly in another post as she is a new addition to their family and focus first on Gus, Bella's best boyfriend. And really, I kid you not, this is love. (At least on his part, sorry Gus.)

Gus and his hu-folks were taking the same class with Sheila that we had taken previously and she saw something in the dogs that she thought would make them good companions for each other. She asked us if we were interested in bringing Bella by after class sometime for a meet and greet. "Sure!", we thought, "we're always looking for ways to socialize our little girl. This would be fun!"

We were on our way into the classroom when the door opened and this ENORMOUS beast came through it on his way out. Bella spooked, feeling trapped in the little hallway and did her usual less-than-polite "I'm big and scary so stay away from me" routine (read: she barked and growled and lunged then ran away and hid behind my legs.) When the big scary dog lunged and growled back at Bella, we promptly shuffled her into a nearby restroom to regroup.

Of course, the big scary dog was Gus, the dog we were there to meet. So, you know, that went well.

If at first and all that...

Sheila was not disuaded from her original opinion that these dogs were perfect for each other and recommended taking them outside to walk around the parking lot to settle down. That went a little better but on the drive home half an hour later, I have to admit Jan and I were dubious. I'm sure Cindy and Rick were right there with us. However, when Sheila suggested we do it all over again the next week, the crazy canines and their human accomplices showed up on demand.

Subsequent meetings went better and we made plans to meet one night after work at the farm field across from Tufts Small Animal Hospital. A 37-acre agricultural field with a mile+ walking trail around it, we were finally going to let the dogs walk "near" each other. This turned out to be a revelation.

The walk started tentatively, the dogs recognizing each other but able to be in their own space as they acclimated to getting closer and closer. Finally, once we were deep enough into the field to be away from too much other dog interference, Gus was let off leash. (Bella was on a very long lead as she didn't have the recall skills yet to be off-leash in a not fenced area...)

Cue the romantic music

I'll let the pictures speak to what happened next.*

Ok, so it wasn't love at first sight

The most remarkable thing, one that I don't think Bella had comfortably experienced before with another dog, was that when she "yelled" at Gus because she was getting scared, he backed off. He actually listened to the scrawny dog! In fact, he seemed to like having a dog tell him what to do because from that day forward, he followed her around like a lovesick, well, pup.

She seemed to give him a sense of direction. And he seemed to give her a sense of security. (It never hurts to have the biggest, baddest boy in the dog park watching your back!)

A few snarks and grumbles later and, well, again, pictures speak louder than words....

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Unfortunately, those halcyon days are behind us after some "bad apples" changed the face of the field (although there are other reasons). And while we were unable to get Bella and Gus together there for over a year, their "love affair" picked up without missing a beat when we were finally able to re-unite the lost lovers this past summer. Bella was immediately more at ease with Gus even after such a separation than she is with any other dog.

And Gus still follows her around ignoring almost all other dogs at the park. He sees her coming the moment we step into the park (well, he IS a sighthound, I suppose) and all else fades from view. He can be in mid-play with another dog but when he sees Bella, the music swells and gorgeous Gus comes running in slow motion, hair blowing in the breeze, to the gate awaiting her arrival. It's like a Fabio commercial. (Ok, the slo-mo might be an exaggeration.)

Gus gave Bella something I am not sure we would have ever been able to offer her: security in the freedom of being off-leash. He is so big and so well-loved at the field, and as a member of his pack, no dog dared push Bella beyond her limits (not without facing the wrath of Gus!)

This love story continues. As for this blog post, alas, I'm afraid it is:

The End.


* (I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures - it was cold, I was freezing, lighting was low and the dogs were fast. Don't fret, though, Gus and Bella will ultimately litter my Wordless Wednesday pages so there will be better pictures to make up for these...)

(Not quite) Wordless Wednesday 8 (Gus)

Introducing Gus, Bella's boyfriend the Borzoi.

(Click the picture for full-size.)

I labored over which picture to use for Gus' debut appearance on Bringing up Bella for a few reasons: he is so photogenic, so lovely and so important. More on Gus in future installments.

In the meantime, feel free to rave about him in the comments.