David Friedli

By the Dashboard Lights

03/13/08

Addy’s Baby

The behavior of Addy, the beagle-mix we adopted from the Humane Society, took us by surprise.

The small, soft ball given to her by a family friend as a canine Christmas gift brought out a side of our pet we had never seen.

Addy put her teeth around the ball and refused to give it up.

In fact, any family member’s movement toward her and her ball provoked a barring of teeth and menacing growl.

When my hand narrowly escaped Addy’s toothy grasp, the ball’s days were numbered.

Enticed away with a treat, the abandoned ball made a last appearance in the garbage can.

But every dog needs a toy. Addy grabbed a few stuffed animals from childhood collections displayed on low shelves.

She became attached to a squirrel and a bunny. Once a day, for not more than ;five minutes, Addy would gladly fetch one of her toys in what became known as her “mad minute”, a fast and furious fido frenzy that would bring all other family activity to a stop as we watched her tear around, over and under furniture as she retrieved the thrown animal.

She never exhibited the protectiveness toward those items as she had regarding the soccer ball.

Perhaps we tested fate. A fuzzy pink lamb stuffed toy caught our eye at the pet store.

Once home, Addy’s obsessive compulsive attachment disorder began anew.

“Baby” went everywhere Addy went. Addy would lay in the middle of the living room, the pink lamb between her front legs, daring anyone to approach her.

She slept with Baby. She ate with Baby. More accurately, she would lay Baby beside her food dish, and then look back and forth between the two, unsure if she could risk not having Baby in her mouth long enough to swallow a few bites.

One afternoon, in the middle of a snowstorm, Baby went with Addy out the door and into the backyard. Addy returned, her jaws empty.

Only when the snow melted last week did Baby reappear. Like a hunter returning from the kill, Addy proudly brought Baby into the house.

It took nearly a week—and a few close calls between my hand and her teeth--but Addy seems to understand we aren’t going to take Baby away from her. Baby is her constant companion, but she willingly gives her up to experience the thrill of fetching Baby back.

Like the March weather, Addy’s attitude came in like a lion, but now resembles a lamb. A lamb like Baby.