Short words have many meanings
A quick trip to the vet yesterday to make sure that the "rash" Simon has had wasn't something serious. After dumping out all the money from my pocketbook, I was able to find out: it's not serious; he is even bigger than I realized (at 34 freakin pounds, he is actually TWO of my sister's smallest adult girls); he is still very shy.
Shy is a funny word. What he actually is is afraid. He is afraid of that lady in the weird jacket that smells like maybe she killed a few dogs today. He is afraid of the little kids that SCREAM. He is afraid of wood chippers. (Okay, so am I.)
He is no longer afraid of other dogs, and this is a fabulous thing. He is not at all aggressive. He's like a first grader with a new best friend. "Hi! I'm Simon! Want to ride my bike! Want me to give you my bike! Hi! I'm Simon!" It is very endearing.
But he was afraid of the vets, so afraid that he actually growled. I was shocked and protective at the same time. I didn't think this little scared baby would growl! The vet was great, gave him space, let him reorient to her. She said he was quite "head shy" and jotted that in his chart so she would remember next time.
Meanwhile we'll go visit every week or so for a while, just to pop in and look at the scale and get a treat, so that the place itself is more of a regular place.
My little petunia, still, but he has enough confidence now to tell someone to back up, please, don't kill me, don't torture me with that metal thing, back up back up. Like I said, shy is a funny word.
Shy is a funny word. What he actually is is afraid. He is afraid of that lady in the weird jacket that smells like maybe she killed a few dogs today. He is afraid of the little kids that SCREAM. He is afraid of wood chippers. (Okay, so am I.)
He is no longer afraid of other dogs, and this is a fabulous thing. He is not at all aggressive. He's like a first grader with a new best friend. "Hi! I'm Simon! Want to ride my bike! Want me to give you my bike! Hi! I'm Simon!" It is very endearing.
But he was afraid of the vets, so afraid that he actually growled. I was shocked and protective at the same time. I didn't think this little scared baby would growl! The vet was great, gave him space, let him reorient to her. She said he was quite "head shy" and jotted that in his chart so she would remember next time.
Meanwhile we'll go visit every week or so for a while, just to pop in and look at the scale and get a treat, so that the place itself is more of a regular place.
My little petunia, still, but he has enough confidence now to tell someone to back up, please, don't kill me, don't torture me with that metal thing, back up back up. Like I said, shy is a funny word.