It’s a dog eat Fruity Cheerios kind of world

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/09/2008 (6561 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We did in fact get the dog.  How could we not?  The look on both of my kids’ faces when they met her said it all.So a beautiful six year old chocolate brown Lab, named Amiga, now follows us everywhere we go, making our already exciting life with kids even more exciting.And she couldn’t be more wonderful with our roughhousing kids if she tried.  Only the most stoic of dogs could patiently sit through weeks of “gentle petting” lessons, and our littlest one taking every opportunity to use her furry belly as a pillow.And with our son pretty much confined to the couch lately, with his broken leg (if you missed my Saturday Parents and the City column about how the entire thing was my husband’s fault, click here), our 18 month old daughter has been bonding with the furry creature who has become her personal companion and even attempts to inconspicuously hide behind her booster chair at meal times. You see Labs are incredibly smart and intuitive.  In the past short weeks since she has moved in with us, the newest member of our family quickly learned two important lessons. 1) I rarely sweep.  2)  The child in pink is a klutzy eater.So it didn’t take long for Amiga to find her rightful place at the table, crouched behind the pig-tailed princess’ chair.  And it also didn’t take long for a new house rule to come into play: No Amiga in the kitchen when the kids are eating.  And it’s a rule that I strictly enforce.  You know the kind of strict that involves a stiff face and a turned back every now and then.Oh how I’ve laughed to myself as I’ve watched my kids, with five and a half years of total wisdom between them, feeding the dog out of their hands when I turn my back to cut carrots.And while Amiga has all the yummy (or so I’m told) doggy meals and snacks that should keep her happy throughout the day, that really isn’t the point.  There simply is nothing more heartwarming than watching a little girl with the widest brown eyes imaginable reaching out to her newest friend “Ga” and secretly sharing a coveted cheese string.