A couple of weekends ago (July 31st-August 1st), I took Jacob out into the backyard with our dog, Goliath, to get a little fresh air despite the insane heat and humidity of our Midwest summers. I saw a reflection of a beagle-ish dog in our sliding glass door but didn't see it in the yard anywhere. It had wandered out-of-sight over by the shed, and when it came into view, Jacob's eyes opened wide and he sat forward in my arms staring at the dog.
He loves Goliath, and Goliath always gives him kisses or stands around waiting to be petted. So Jacob's used to dogs being friendly and giving him attention. Well, apparently THIS pup wasn't very keen on people and was solely on an exploratory mission around the neighborhood. As soon as the pup scurried out of Jacob's view, Jacob let out a loud cry and didn't quiet down much until I started walking with him to try to find the dog (who had easily squeezed through the gap in our fence out to the front yard).
Me: Let's go find the puppy! Where'd he go?
Jacob: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! WAAAAA WAAAAA WAAAAAAAAA!
We spotted the dog in the neighbor's yard, and Jacob stopped crying momentarily. Once it wandered down the street, though, Jacob started sobbing again inconsolably. I took him inside to find a blanket and a box of doggy treats a friend have given us talking both calmly and excitedly to him about how we'd go out and sit on our blanket to wait for the puppy to come back. I spread the blanket out and set down the box of dog treats after showing Jake the picture of the dog on the box and talking about the doggie. No sooner did I place him on the blanket when he started bawling all over again. Poor little guy! I had my camera in my pocket and took it out to get a shot of him sitting up next to the box of dog bones. He hadn't been sitting very well without support until this point, but this incident ended up being the turning point in his sitting abilities! He REALLY wanted to see that dog!
The dog traipsed by again - sniffing and darting through yards -, and Jacob calmed down enough to watch it come and then go again. And then the crying resumed. I took him inside after that to hang out with Goliath. Bless his little puppy-loving heart. <3
