The Dogfather (Part One) -- Meeting of the Four Families

In a highly unusual event, five dogs gathered under a large tree in the gated yard that Cadbury and Bear shared with their human family, the dogs’ rare presence all together in one place occasioned by what the humans refer to as a “wedding” – a formal ceremony celebrating the pairing of a male human and a female human in a special union intended for life, which often attracts guests from many places both near and far. The humans’ preoccupation with the event fortuitously provided the dogs with privacy to meet alone.

Cadbury and Bear were there, of course, and served as hosts. They were joined by Hank, an energetic miniature Australian Shepherd who lives in a nearby town called “Larch-mont” with the second-eldest female offspring (“dott-err”) of Cadbury and Bear’s humans, and her male mate, and Lee, a self-confident French Bulldog who lives in a town slightly farther away called “Will-tonn” with the only male offspring (“sunn” – not to be confused with the big light in the sky) of Cadbury and Bear’s humans, and his female mate. Also present was Adobo (“Dobo”), a sweet-tempered German Shepherd mix who lives in a city far away in a place called “Koll-oh-radd-oh” with the eldest dott-err of Cadbury and Bear’s humans, her male mate, and her own one-year-old dott-err, Isabelle (“Izzy”).

As the dog with most seniority, Cadbury called the meeting to order. The purpose of the meeting, he informed the group, was to share and discuss important news: within the following few weeks, both Hank’s pair of humans and Lee’s pair of humans were expecting to welcome new little dott-errs of their own!

All of the dogs were very excited and delighted with this news, but Cadbury (who had known beforehand) was nevertheless a bit concerned for Hank and Lee, who likely had no clue how the arrival of a new little human (a “bay-bee”) would change their lives – for the better, of course, over the long term, but with challenges initially. So Cadbury turned to Dobo with the request, “Dobo, you alone among us have had recent experience with the arrival of a human family’s first bay-bee; could you share with the group what Hank, Lee and the rest of us can expect?”

“Certainly, Cadbury,” replied Dobo, “and may I say, it is a great pleasure being here with you all today. As you know, I live very far away and don’t often get the chance to spend time with you personally; I wish that were not the case, but it makes me appreciate these opportunities all the more.”

“The arrival of a human family’s first bay-bee is quite an event. It literally turns everything upside down. After many months of waiting, the human couple comes home from a place they call a “hoss-pitt-all” with this tiny little version of a human that squirms, and cries, and eats, and sleeps, and – well, you get the idea. The humans spend every possible waking minute with the bay-bee, sometimes just staring at it with a look of pure happiness tinged with a bit of exhaustion (the humans get very little sleep in the beginning). This can be hard on us dogs, especially when we are used to having all of that attention focused on us (Hank and Lee, I’m looking at you two!). However, I’ve come to learn that humans have the amazing ability to love bay-bees and dogs at the same time, so once things settle down and the bay-bee gets older (and the humans get more sleep), a dog’s life actually gets better than ever.”

“I can’t tell you how many enjoyable hours I’ve spent sitting near or next to Izzy when she was very young, or protectively following her progress as she first crawled along the floor, learned to stand on her own, and took her first steps, or just watching her play with her toys. As you know, my humans and I love to be outside and active. Now that Izzy is a bit older, my humans can carry her on their backs when we go hiking, which is something I really love to do, or she can ride along in a little carriage with us when my humans ride their bicycles. So, the bottom line is that my life definitely changed, as yours will, but it’s been a really good change.”

“So,” said Cadbury, with a twinkle in his eye, “is it safe to say that the opportunity to have a new little human join your family is an offer you’d never refuse?”

Dobo laughed. “Not in a million years!