Daddy's Boy

“Are you looking for something?”  I was on the phone with Kevin and all I could hear was a banging like drawers being opened, rummaged through and closed.

“No, Ray is playing with his shoulder bone, throwing it up in the air and chasing it,” he said.  “I brought my laptop down here to the kitchen so I could work while he plays.”

This, people, is a huge breakthrough.  Usually I hear about how much attention Ray demanded while Kevin couldn’t get his work done, but after the fab weekend we just had, I think Kevin and Ray have really bonded.  They spent Friday together and had some quality dad and lad playtime, spent some nice time together Saturday while I volunteered with SmilingK9’s at the Pet Expo and on Sunday we had a little family retail therapy trip.

The Pet Expo was wildly busy and SK9s had some monster traffic.  Our gal Sparkles had several suitors vying for her affections and I’m told we had five-count ‘em- five applications on her this weekend.  Let’s keep everything possible crossed that one of these applicants turns out to be her One.  The talented Laura also made tutus and donated profits to the rescue and they were such a hit the people were flocking to the booth not only to smooch pooches but to purchase these beauties.

Sparkles in her adopt me vest.

Tutus were a huge hit!

Sunday we had an Open House since we are still pretending that the house is for sale still hoping to move.  Asia went to the mall which left me, Kevin and Ray to make plans.  I don’t worry about the cats because they hide during the entire time and even though Ray is not a barker and is great in his crate, I don’t want him home when strangers are traipsing through.  When I suggested to Kevin that we take Ray to PetSmart, I knew he was reluctant in his agreement.  This trip was actually the first time Ray and Kevin have been in a vehicle together and I could tell that Kevin was pleasantly surprised at what a good rider Ray is and when we got to PetSmart we spent a little time in the grass for bodily functions before shopping, 

We had chosen a newer and smaller PetSmart to visit and were rewarded with a wonderfully positive trip.  I’ve written before about his mad social skills and also that he is maturing, and getting better at interactions, which helps tremendously.  The other thing that I sometimes find hard to see is the self confidence issue, or lack thereof. Because he is such a happy little boy at home, I sometimes lose sight of what some of his other behaviors signify.  He is a “greeting wizzer” sometimes and it is not uncommon for him to tinkle a little whenever meeting someone new or seeing someone he hasn’t seen recently, like a few days ago.  He also tends to roll over for belly rubs immediately which of course is adorable, but we are trying to get him to not be so immediately submissive and stand like a big boy for greetings.  

So Sunday at PetSmart, we didn’t actually encounter any pooches face to face, but he was met and greeted by and loved on by at least four employees who were able to pet him and come away with nothing more than a hearty tail wag!  At only one point did Ray try the old belly roll but before getting on the ground we reminded him to stand like a big boy and the employee helped keep him standing so we had some major success.   I know Kevin was not only surprised but pleased with the ease and fun of the trip because little Ray-Ray scored a big bag of toys from his daddy. 

We hope everyone had a super weekend as well.