Timber is our pure-bred German Shepherd, and today, Timber turns 4. He was only supposed to live maybe a year. If he did live longer then a year, he was never supposed to walk without a terrible limp, be able to run properly, or live a good quality life. He has conquered them all.
I'm not sure if part of our incredible love for him was born out of our desire to "love him better", or if he just suits the family so well, we can't imagine life without him. Either way, we love our family guardian.
Timber has this uncanny ability to know who needs him. If one of the boys is having a rough night of bad dreams, or had a tough day, he will sleep with whoever it is. If someone needs to wrap their arms around his thick, furry neck, he will lay there as long as they need, and then lay his head in their lap just as a bonus. If he feels any nervousness from me, he sticks pretty close. He will also do a perimeter sweep of the yard, check that everyone is safely in bed, and then once satisfied, lay across the front door. He has accepted many of my friend's children as part of his "peeps."
He'll fight with Grandma on the stairs and in the kitchen, nip at the boys, or trip them, if they are mis-behaving, harass me whenever I'm trying to leave without him, and barks at Dad every-single-time- he walks through the door. (I'm sure it's just to get a rise out of him!) He loves to lay in the chair he claimed as a puppy, which has a perfect vantage point to watch the inner workings of the home. He still lays down to eat his food, even though he now has more then enough strength to stand. He can communicate his needs for the basics of life as well as a few tricks he can pull out to surprise us. He gets upset with me if he is outside when it's time to wake up the boys, because he loves that part of the mornings. I just have to say the word, and he will run up the stairs to his buddies.
On evenings of intense Thunder and Lightning storms, Timber will go find a boy to hide him. He will go flying upstairs, or down to the living room, and find a corner of a bed, closet, or under a desk, where some kid will invariably hide him and then keep him company until it's over. Not because they are scared, but because they recognize that Timber now needs them.
To this crazy dog, I am Mom. He treats me with adoring love and respect, hates when I leave home, but also saves his shenanigans for me! The boys are like siblings to him. They fight, they play, they harass, they run, they tackle, and they love fiercely. Grandma is Grandma. She will lay down the law if needed, but prefers to love him up in the kitchen with tasty morsels, (which is against the rules, I might add!), and is always more then happy to spoil him a bit. Dad is meant to be respected, obeyed, but played with constantly, and harassed beyond belief. Timber was made for our family.
So, yes! Today we celebrate Timer! We celebrate his ability to love, protect, amuse, and bring immense joy to our family! We celebrate our family protector..... :)
No comments:
Post a Comment