Judy D. writes:
Our
10 y/o grandson Jordan has grown up with Airedales. I have a photo of his first
visit to our house when he was days old. I photographed him in his vibrating
recliner. Bonnie is standing behind him like a guardian angel. We had Bonnie
and Beau at the time. Neither of them had ever been around a baby.
They were very curious and confused about him at first. Bonnie crossed the
bridge when Jordan was only four months old. By that time, she'd grown quite
fond of snuffling him when he came over. Beau was always respectful of the children and I've always expected the children
to be respectful of Airedales.
We brought Anabelle home when Jordan was about 8 mos. old. Anabelle was 4
months old at the time. She and Jordan grew up together. Beau and
Anabelle loved our trips to the beach with Jordan. We started taking him with
us when he was three. He would sit in the back of our pick up, his car seat
between the two Airedales. He didn't flinch when they stepped over him or when
Beau barked at horses on the way to the beach. Jordan
remembers the time when we let him "walk" Beau along the beach in the
early morning. He was telling his brother Nicholas about it yesterday. He said,
"I kept asking Grandma if I could hold the leash and walk Beau. She finally
said' Yes.' We were walking along when Beau saw something and started
running. He pulled me down the beach so fast, I bounced along behind him."
Jordan was laughing at the idea he thought he could control an Airedale back
then. Jordan got used to spelling the word D-O-G because he knew both dogs
would bark if they saw another D-O-G on the way into the park.
When we were at the beach with Jordan and Nick a couple of weeks ago. We had
our other son's dog, Truman with us. We were dogsitting him while his family
was on vacation. The last day we were at the beach, Jordan said to me,
"You know, coming here just isn't the same without an Airedale. Truman is
nice but it's just not as much fun." I had to agree.
This week Jordan was thrilled when he met Duncan. On Thursday he told us he and
his Mom had found a book about Airedales in his bookcase. It was called
"Houses Full of Laughter." He said they spent a lot of time reading
the stories while Nick had his speech therapy appointment. Yesterday Jordan
spent most of his time here telling me stories from the book. He now knows
Bonnie very well. He loves all the stories in the book, especially the ones
about Bonnie and Beau. When Jordan was between 3 and 6 y/o, I used to
make up stories for him about Anabelle and Beau. Anabelle was like the naughty
little sister who got into everything and Beau was always the hero who saved
the day. A couple of years ago, Jordan started writing his own stories
about them.
Yesterday when the kids arrived at our house to spend the
afternoon. I thought a walk would be a good bonding experience with them and
Duncan. I told them it would make him feel they are part of his pack.
Our little procession marched down the sidewalk with baby
Aria in the stroller. Nick wanted to help walk Duncan. Since Duncan's
still wearing two leashes, I let Nick hold the one attached to his collar. I
held the other leash on the pinch collar. Duncan has been a very quick learner.
He is generally well-behaved on leash. Nick has been a little afraid of
Duncan. You can understand how a six y/o would feel when confronted by a
very large, energetic, young Airedale. Nick walked along beside Duncan and me.
He was so pleased to be holding the leash. Every once in awhile, Duncan would
look over at Nick and notice him holding the leash. He gave Nick a big lick on
the arm. Nick is a very gentle, considerate boy. I think the walk worked great
for them both. Duncan also decided baby Aria is part of
our pack. He has accepted her as one of us. She took longer for him to
understand. I still have to be very careful with the two of them because she's
so small. I don't think Duncan had ever been around a toddler before.
On the way home from the walk, Jordan talked my ear off about Airedales. He
told me how they've always been part of his life. He's so happy we have one
again. He said, "You know I've known you guys and Mommy and Daddy better
than anyone else in the world. When I think of you guys, I always think
of you guys with an Airedale. It's part of who you are." I guess
Duncan has filled a very important hole in Jordan's heart too.
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