The Dog

( pictures of Keeva, Elijiah and puppies May 2006)

Ok, the time has come for Keeva to have a new home. With the divorce I was to take Keeva....well I didnt live anywhere that allowed for animals so she stayed with Khory....When Jonathan and I got married part of the deal was to take Keeva back and go on with our merry lives. Well it took a bit for Jonathan and Keeva to take to one another- but they did. I considered this a cause for celebration- afterall Jonathan not only had a child but a dog within a few short months. Now Keeva is the kind of dog that loves to be with you. She wants to be where you are, and makes it known shes unhappy if she isnt with you. She will whine and be generally annoying. This was nothing new. Afterall we got her before we had Elijiah and she was our baby for a while. She sat on my lap and on the furniture etc. We were the dog owners who took our dog everywhere with us like those annoying people with no children do. However Keeva took backstage the moment Elijiah was born. She was no longer my child- she was SURPRISE!! A dog. I think for months Keeva pretended Elijiah didnt exist. She would move about the house with her nose in the air and oblivious to the new addition. I was worried about this to be honest. I thought for sure she would take to him and they would be best buddies growing up together. Well the only belief this would happen was one day I took a very young Elijiah to the dog park with me. He was in the baby carrier which I put down on the ground and stood next to while Keeva ran around and played with other dogs. There were some curious dogs near us and they soon came over to sniff the carrier and generally see what was going on. Like radar, Keeva from the middle of the field, stopped playing, head and ears perked up....froze looked in our direction and came running over. She immediately put herself inbetween Elijiah and the other dogs and growled. If a dog tried a different angle or moved she would immediately take another stance to block the offending dog. It was a wonderful thing. I thought, she knows! This is her family and she will protect him. While that was true in public, her distain, or lack of interest in Elijiah at home was the norm. When he started to crawl, he had such interest and love for Keeva, he would constantly be seeking her out. Oh she was patient letting him crawl over to her and mess with her, but more often than not, she would simply get up and move anytime Elijiah would come near. Over time Elijiah started to walk and she would think nothing of bounding past him or knocking him over to get out the door. It was almost a sibling rivarly if you could see it. It was like she was saying" I know your here, and here to stay, but I was here FIRST!" Well with each passing year Elijiah and Keeva became better buddies. He is so gentle with her and she is so protective and tolerant. They play togther and its what I always dreamed of when getting a dog.

Well, things havent been so rosy for miss keeva in the last few months. Whether its the divorce, having puppies or change of people, or living arrangements....she has become a different dog in the last year. The camping trip from hell is a good way to discribe our trip with Keeva a few weeks ago. She couldnt be 2 feet away from Jonathan and I without going bizerk. The whimpering, the howling, the glutteral noises that came out of this dog.....in additional to the viciousness she displayed to Jonathans family and others was insane. I knew I couldnt trust her anymore. Her personality was so different than I have ever remembered. Come to find out Khory said she has changed and she isnt nice to strangers much....ANYWAY to make a long story short, Jonathan and I agreed that while I love my dog a ton, her unpredicability wont be tolerated in our home with young children coming and going. Anything could happen and Khory agreed to take her back. So this is my tribute and tirad to my crazy lovey dog Keeva. I will miss you, love you, but have to do so from afar.