Since he was little he has loved his Old Dog. That is the name he gave him. He has "love holes"-little worn out holes in the fabric- he has been loved so much. Over the years I think John and I have come to love Old Dog too. I have had to be so careful, and so far in a little over four years, we have yet to lose Old Dog.(There is no replacement!) Mind you, he has gone missing before... luckily not for long. One time he was missing for a day or two and when I found him nicely tucked in the playroom, inside the play kitchen oven, I told Parker where he was. Parker responded with, " No Mom, he went to the mountains to visit Ronnie Reynolds." Oh. Okay.
About a month ago, there appeared New Dog. Not to replace Old Dog, just to be side by side with Old Dog. New Dog had previously lived in the playroom bin full of stuffed animals. I'm not even sure where he came from. Now Parker is teaching New Dog how to be a good dog. He takes both dogs on walks around the block, for real. He puts them in their dog beds for naps, he feeds them out of dog bowls full of cereal. He LOVES these dogs.
Maybe, this means I should cave (and this would be a huge cave...) and just get a real dog one day for this boy. But maybe not. He loves these dogs, and I know they love him back. And it reminds me of the white, "love holed", stuffed animal dog, Hoss, that slept with me for many, many years. Hoss was named after my favorite teacher, Mrs. Orphanakis' dog that died, while she was my teacher in Second Grade. Hoss was so matted and tattered from being washed so many times in the washing machine by my mom. That same dog is now in my grown-up (sort of) closet today, sitting on the top shelf because I can't bear to get rid of him.
It's not just an Old Dog. It's part of being a kid and loving something that makes you feel safe. I hope Old Dog makes it to Parker's grown-up closet top shelf one day too. In the meantime, I think Old Dog will continue to be dragged around our street at 7am Saturday mornings, on a real dog leash.
