Kooper Care

Kooper’s stay with us is winding down.  Tonight Kooper and Hollly enjoyed their last night in the backyard with a game of chase and some tug.  Then each took time for themselves – Kooper doing some chipmunk monitoring and Holly carrying her ball around enticing an occasional toss from me.  All of this while I’m watering flowers and sod and throwing out more grass seed.

Kooper care has gone by fast.  He settles into the routine nicely and has picked up the cues on when car rides, meal times and teethbrushing are about to happen. He has learned that the occasional ‘thump’ in the house is Gracie and that there is no need to bark and race to the door.  He intuitively knew he would be sleeping in the guest bedroom and independently goes there after ‘last call’ and everyone heads up the stairs.  He has learned that Helen isn’t much of a tug player but she does accept a few licks on her long nose.  Holly is a tug player but not a match for Kooper, mainly because I intervene when he begins the vigorous head shaking!  Holly & Helen are going to miss having the big guy around. Gracie, not so much.  She expressed some dissatisfaction the other day when she pulled all the napkins out of the cupboard and shredded many of them into pieces.  I shouldn’t pin this on Kooper as Gracie has expressed her feelings this way on other occasions when the house has been Kooper free.

The neighbor’s grandchildren have gone home so the east side of the house has been quiet.  The neighbor’s children to the west of me have returned home from a vacation.  Holly still keeps one eye to the east when she goes outside but most of her attention has gone westward.  It’s been interesting to watch how she interacts with the different kids.  She seems to know how to prepare for each kid, some she will run back a few yards in expectation of the throw while others she takes just a few steps back from the fence. She has the distance figured out, more often than not she catches the ball in the air – followed by a victory lap around the yard.    Meanwhile, Kooper is monitoring chipmunks; and Helen is laying down resting, safely tucked out of the way.  I’m pulling weeds and planting grass seed.  People often ask me if I like retirement and my response has wholeheartedly been – I don’t know how I ever had time to work!