A Boy and His Dog

Liam's first meeting with our beloved dog, Sophie, did not go well.  It did not go well AT ALL!  Although we had taken a photo album of pictures of Sophie to China to try to show Liam, he had no interest in looking at it.  The first time Liam laid eyes on Sophie, he screamed in terror. Then to make matters worse, in Sophie's excitement to meet the new little kid in our house, Sophie jumped up for a sniff and a lick (a bad habit we've worked years to break...) and accidently scratched Liam's leg.  Liam screamed even louder!
Liam continued to cry and scream hysterically every time Sophie came near him.  For two days, he was petrified of Sophie. 
In China, I had worried about Liam being aggressive with Sophie.  I feared for Sophie - that Liam would hit, push and bite her just as he had abused  Kyra in the beginning.   At least that wasn't happening because Liam wouldn't allow Sophie within 3 feet of him before screaming and running to me. 

After the first two days it became clear, as Liam's fear began to fade, that neither Sophie nor I had anything to fear.  Liam gradually began to make friends with Sophie and now he clearly loves her!  He says her name, "Dotee!" and talks about her a lot.  "Dotee woo!"  (Sophie woof!") Whatever else he is saying about "Dotee" in Cantonese - I can't understand.  He once saw Kyra calling for Sophie at the front door  and now he goes to the door as soon as we open it and yells "DOTEE!! DOTEE!!! DOTEE!!!" at the top of his little lungs - even if Sophie is standing right in front of him.   Liam loves to put his face in her fluffy tail when she wags it, and he loves to lay down in front of Sophie when she's resting and put his nose on Sophie's nose.  I have tried to catch both of these precious moments on film, but they have eluded me.  One of them always moves just a second too soon.  Liam gently pets Sophie and is forever feeding her treats that he has figured out how to get himself.  (I'll eventually put them away so I won't have a fat Sophie, but for now it's so sweet to watch.)  

 Sophie tries to lick Liam, but rarely can before Liam darts away.  When he gets a lick in- Liam just smiles and vigoriously wipes it off.  Every now and then, Sophie gets a lick that sticks -- right in the back of Liam's head! Sophie calmly endures Liam's attempts to put folding chip clips in her fur, sunglasses on her face and unwanted milk bones in her mouth. When she has had enough - she simply walks away.   Sophie has proudly taken on the task of keeping track of both of her charges- first following Kyra down the driveway, then coming back to check on Liam - then following Liam down the driveway and coming back to check on Kyra. Maybe she'll get enough exercise to keep those treats at bay! 

Liam tries to give Sophie some water from Liam's water bottle. 

Liam "chats" with Sophie in Cantonese (I think).

Liam makes Sophie look super cool.

A boy and his dog --- too sweet for words.