A-mazing.

So, I know that these pictures might not look like much to you. Just a dog laying down, and a dog and a cat sitting around the house. But, if you knew how long we have waited for some moments like this, you would begin to understand why these pictures are SO exciting to us. Back in March of '07 we brought little puppy Toby home from the breeder. Pretty much from the moment we got him, he and our cat, Rocky, have been chasing, clawing, biting, and generally fighting each other every chance they get. We have kept them largely to separate areas of the house, and Toby has been in his kennel a lot. In addition to this, the dog's energy level has generally been through the roof for the last two years. It seemed that no matter how much exercise or play time we gave him, he was never worn out. And, he would begin looking for trouble (something to chew on that he wasn't supposed to have, something to steal, etc...) whenever he wasn't the absolute focus of our attention. So, whenever we couldn't be actively engaging him, we would have to kennel him. So, if we wanted to watch a movie, get anything accomplished around the house, cook, etc..., Toby had to go in his kennel. And, he couldn't relax outside of his kennel. I never saw our dog sleep (seriously...I'm not kidding) until a few months ago. He only slept when he was in his kennel, and we weren't around. He spent A LOT of time in his kennel. Not exactly what we pictured when we got a dog. We wanted a little furry to lay at our feet while we're reading, to take for walks and hikes, run with us when we were out for runs, and do all of the other things that dog owners look forward to when adding a dog to their household. Well, a little over two years later, we are FINALLY....FINALLY....FINALLY....getting to enjoy a lot of those things. A few weeks ago, Toby just turned a corner. It was like a switch in his brain was flipped, and he realized he could just "hang out" with us. He didn't have to be playing with us to be around us. He realized he could spend more time with us, and outside of his kennel, if he could just lay down and relax while we get some things done around the house. AND, to top it all off, he and the cat have been mostly getting along. So, the picture with Toby and the cat sitting nicely, side-by-side, is a scene that you NEVER would have seen in our house up until now. There is finally much much more peace and quiet in our house. Toby actually really seems to enjoy just laying down and taking a snooze beside us (sometimes on us...which doesn't work so well now that he's 100 lbs.) while we're doing other things. A-MAZING!!! I never thought this day would come. All I can say is that it is sweet, sweet relief.