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| Friend of Friend with Dottie Belle |
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| Friend Christopher with Gypsy |
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| Chase with Butter Scotch | | | aka Blade |
Friday, I actually did it.
I bought two bright pink harnesses and leashes for my kids, Dottie Belle and Gypsy. One evening, when I was helping my friend, Jo, walk an Alaskan Husky she was sitting, as well as, her 2 dachshunds; I commented that I am planning on teaching my goats to walk on a leash. I'm not sure she believed me, but she does now. We even joked about walking them in Betty Virginia Park and that we would call them
designer dogs or doats.
As soon as I got home from Pet Smart, my yard filled with grandsons and their friends. First, we harnessed up Dottie Belle and Gypsy and gave them a test walk around the yard. Then Chase wanted to walk his bunny, Blade, whom I call Butter Scotch. A bunny named Blade sounds like a horror film character. So he went inside and got the bunny leash and the bunny.
Everything seemed to be going well, so I went to help Don plant all those azaleas. The boys soon got bored walking the 3 animals on leashes in the yard. Instead, they unleashed them and chased them. I looked up and Gypsy was crying as loud as she could and running a top speed toward me. Poor little goat, she was running for her life. Enough of that, I put the goats away. Too many boys and things are going to go a different direction from what I intended.
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| Paxton |
All this trying to work out leashes and boys, brought back the memory of when my son, Paxton, was 3 years old. He was constantly running away in stores. I'd usually find him hiding in a rack of clothes. Losing a 3 year old is one of the most terrifying feelings in the world. So I bought a leash for him. It had Velcro that fit his wrist and a loop for me to hold. Well, that only worked for a few minutes. Soon he was lying down in the floor screaming for me to take it off. We talked and talked and I begged and bribed. Finally, we came to an agreement. I would wear the leash on my wrist and he would hold it. This compromise did work beautifully, because he understood that if he ever let go, he would have to wear it. But I was very much aware that this was just the beginning of
The Battle of Who's In Control.
