Palpable Bonds

When Oakley was a tiny puppy, she stuck to her older "sister" Lucy like glue.  She would imitate whatever Lucy was doing.  This old photo of Lucy and Oakley illustrates the bond they began to develop when Oakley was a young pup.  It's my favorite picture of the two together.

 As Oakley grew, the bond between them intensified.  Oakley is a year old here and she's snuggled up against Lucy, whose arm is around Oakley's body.  Another sweet memory of the two together.

I see a similar bond developing between Oakley, now ten, and my new puppy Gracie.  Oakley puts up with all kinds of puppy antics from Gracie.  You can see the adoring look on Gracie's face as she looks up to Oakley.

Wherever Oakley goes, Gracie follows.  Until last week, if Oakley wanted to escape from Gracie's puppy pesterings, she'd jump up on the bed.  But now Gracie has learned to jump up on the bed, so she snuggles with Oak there too.  

 There are times when Oakley wants a break from the continual playing with Gracie and communicates that desire by ignoring her.  Message received, Gracie then goes off on her own and takes a puppy nap.  Those heavy eyelids signal she's ready for a snooze too.

Sometimes I wonder what the communication between the two of them actually means.  Here it looks like Gracie is whispering something into Oakley's ear.  But she's actually getting ready to groom the inside of Oakley's ear.  Almost every day, Gracie will lick Oakley's ears, teeth, and her face.  It's a wonderful display of the palpable bonds between the two.