Sunday, December 12, 2010

Growing Up

One Puppy
Dog Blog Post #172: Well, I can't deny it any longer. My precious little puppy isn't little any more.

(Still precious, of course, he'll always be that!)

Sure, he acts like a puppy (most of the time) and looks like a puppy (some of the time) but it is all too apparent that where once a little puppy stood, a small dog now does stand.

Kids are not like puppies in that way. Kids grow up so much slower, and it would nearly impossible to choose two pictures, taken even a week or two apart, where my son magically went from infant to toddler, or toddler to preschooler, ... etc.


(Except, perhaps, right after a hair cut. Every time my son got a hair cut he seemed to get much older, only to "regress" in age as it grew out!)

But, as was noted by several folks last week, there are now, indeed, pictures showing a small dog, despite what I might see through the camera lens. And in fact, I can get both puppy and small dog on the same day, or even during the same shoot. (The pictures on this page were taken yesterday, six hours apart.)

Fascinating.

Today we went to the sports place to watch my son play Lacrosse. As usually, he sat there calm and collected as he was mugged by small children and cooed over by some seriously dog-loving parents. He's most responsive to the little ones. To adults, he behaves with quiet dignity. With kids he is more interactive (particularly if they have sticky hands!) and his favorite of all are the really little ones - the 2-3 year old kids, who can barely say doggie, yet extend their hands in honest (if clumsy) friendship.

That's when he's truly in his happy place.

Adults always comment on how calm he is, and ask what I did to create that. I'm afraid my answer of, "He just came that way," disappoints, but it's true. He did.

Will it last? I hope so!

While watching Henry mature into a well-mannered (at least until the hormones kick in) dog leaves me filled with pride and satisfaction, it is also a bit sad; my precious little puppy is growing up fast, and there isn't a darn thing I can do about it.
Two Dogs?

No comments: