A Pet Owner's Journey (Pt. 7)

When you have a rescue dog you never really know how they are going to react to children, regardless of what age the child is. This has always been a worry with Roxy. Considering how defensive she can be with other dogs, and sometimes with people, it has always been a concern about her demeanour around children.

However, children seem to be the one population she has no problem with. The Humane Society we got her from informed us that she'd previously lived in a house with two smaller children, but, again, you must always take a rescue dog's history with a grain of salt. So we were cautious about how she would be around kids.

I can still remember the first time a toddler came running up to her at the park. He was completely alone, his parents somewhere down the path behind him. And he just came running up towards Roxy.

Now, it wasn't the toddler's fault. He saw a cute puppy and wanted to give it a hug. I blame the parents on this one. But, despite my internal panic, I just put Roxy on her short leash, made her sit down, and braced for impact.

And, much to my surprise, she sat there like a good girl and took the love and affection from the little boy. She was all but grinning at being called "pretty puppy" by this little toddler. You would have thought it was the best day of her life. And a few moments later the mother ran up to retrieve her son, all full of apologies, and then the toddler was gone.

It was from that encounter that we learned that Roxy loves the attention of children. I'm not certain if it is because they are at the same level as her. I'm not certain if it is because they call her pretty and give her lots of pats. I can't say for sure. But she will sit like a good girl while an entire mob of children surround her and she will not complain in the least.

This was a wonderful discovery. Roxy may bark at strollers and wagons, mostly because she can't really see them, but she is great around children. It was one less thing to worry about.

Now Roxy spends all of her time around children. They are in and out of the house constantly. They pat her and chase her and sometimes fall on top of her. The latter of the three is the only one that she has any opposition to and I can't really blame her. I would be opposed to 50 lbs dropping on top of me while I'm sleeping as well.

Roxy plays out in the backyard with the kids. She plays ball with the kids. She pokes holes in the kid's balls, much to their displeasure, but Roxy has a good time. She walks with us to school in the morning and makes sure that everyone gets there safe.

Ultimately, Roxy has taken very well to having a child in her life. And I am very happy to see that she has done so well with the transition.

However, I think my favourite thing about Roxy getting used to having a child in her life is our bedtime routine. Roxy will curl up on the bed and fall asleep while we do story time. This happens every night, without fail. And Roxy will stay there, guarding the sleeping child, until it is time for her to come to her own bed in our bedroom.

Dogs can surprise you and Roxy definitely has in the years that she has been in my life. She continues to surprise me every day with the things she does and the unique ways she reacts to certain situations. Some things make me shake my head and others make me smile.

Roxy's love for children will always make me smile and always be something that I am happy about. She is a good dog, even with her quirks. And I will never regret my decision to get her.

Rescue dogs are interesting and they are special. They have a past that will always be with them and it will always affect the future that you try to make with them. But with the right level of love, attention, and care that future can still be a bright one.

Thanks, as always, for reading "A Pet Owner's Journey" and I hope you'll find us here next time for more adventures with Roxy.