For those who have been so kind to follow Mojo's progress and ask how he has been doing during my absence, thank you for sticking with me and rooting for him in the meanwhile.
It wasn't as if things weren't happening, because they were ... but they were becoming more subtle. They were things we were noticing in retrospect rather than at the moment.
There have been a few "biggies" -- Mojo now officially loves riding in the car and sticks his head out the window when we go places, just like a dog! He also has been known to go upside down on the bed in the middle of the night, that cute little belly getting some fresh air. Just like a dog!
But there were other doggy things that still weren't surfacing:
We've never heard him bark.
He's never whined.
He doesn't wag his tail.
And boy, oh boy, this dog LOATHES the word "come". You'd think we were calling him with one hand, while holding a meat cleaver in the other. He sort of slinks toward us, looking behind his back occasionally as if someone back there would give him a reason to run the other direction.
And, much to our chagrin, he has to stay on-leash outside in our wonderful back yard because he still won't stop running in circles, ignoring all attempts to have him come inside.
Which brings us to the other things we've never seen him do: he has never once sat down or laid down outside.
Well ... never until today!
Because last evening, we added a new secret weapon to our arsenal.
We've added the Bella factor.
That's right, folks ... we have finally found Mojo's trainer. She's a two-ish year old yellow lab-ish firecracker who has taken on the responsibility of teaching Mojo the Art of the Dog. 50 pounds of energy and she's bringing youth into Mojo's old soul.
If Mojo is a piano chord -- rich in notes, maybe a bit on the melancholy side ... Bella is that sound you get when you slam both hands on the keys with all your might.
She has tumbling skills, tackling skills, nibbling skills, rolling skills, and she's not afraid to use them. Last night, Mojo tolerated her but didn't respond to her in any way. Not even to resist some of the poking and prodding.
Today, however, he FINALLY let his hair down and gave back a lot of what she was giving. It was a joy to watch.
The result? Well, take a look. I do believe that's Mojo sitting. And laying. By us. Without a leash. Outside.
Oh. And he comes in when Bella does. If he starts to look like he's not going to, we send her out and she brings him right in.
Independence Day, indeed!
We're probably not completely out of the woods yet; I think there will be moments when he'll feel overwhelmed by her and retreat to one of his safe spots, but I would love to be wrong about that. He may not want to miss a thing anymore.
