SOL18.....Playing Tug of War

Tug of War

     I heard a noise and looked down to see Charlie staring at me. I quickly looked back up, hoping he hadn't noticed, but of course he did. He was going blind, so he shouldn't have been able to, but somehow, some sneaky little way, he was always able to tell. He gave a tiny little whine again. I ignored it. He wanted me to play with him, I know it. And honestly, I didn't mind playing with him, but I was at a really good place in my book and just wanted to finish the chapter. He whined again, but louder this time. I knew he wasn't going to stop until I acknowledged him, but I still hoped maybe he'd hold out just a few more minutes. Just a few pages, I was so close!

    He barked, but a quiet bark, a get-your-attention kind of bark. I smiled. He wasn't going to last 5 more minutes. I looked down at him, "Charlie, I'm reading a really good part right now. Let's just wait a minute or two OK?" I don't know why I always tried negotiating with him. He had no patience for negotiating. He pawed at my hand while whining. There were four steps Charlie went through when trying to get my attention.... 1. whine 2. bark (meekly) 3. Paw at me while barking/whining and 4. BARK. Like, real barking, mad, yelling at me. He was quickly escalating.

     I reached my hand down and scratched his head while I continued reading. He moved his face against my hand and nuzzled his nose into my palm, giving a tentative, tiny, little lick. That did it. I broke. Charlie was not a licker. I can count on my hands the number of times in his entire life (8 years) that he has licked me or someone else. I knew I couldn't ignore him when he gave such an innocent, cute little gesture like that. I put the book face down on the couch and moved to sit next to him on the floor.

     "Where's your baby?" I asked. We call all of his toys his babies. I have no idea how it started, and it makes for an odd conversation when I mention him eating his babies out in public, but for some reason it stuck all these years. "Where's Charlie's baby?" I repeated again. His tail was wagging back and forth like crazy and he ran around the table twice as he sniffed different toys laying around the floor. He had a basket they were all kept in, and I tried to clean up after him, but I swear the second I put them away he tore them out again.
     Finally, he picked up a piece of fabric that used to be a raccoon. It was his favorite and even though the stuffing had long since been torn out and you couldn't distinguish head from tail, he still pulled it out and dragged it around with him multiple times a week. I laughed out loud as he happily ran back over the me and shoved it in my face. And I literally mean shoved. He climbed up on top of me, stuck his front paws on my chest, and put his face right up to my face with the ripped raccoon hanging from his mouth. It was smelly and damp already from him playing with it. "Is this your baby? Give me your baby."
     Charlie excitedly backed up, knowing my next move would be to grab his toy. We've done it a million times and will probably do it a million more. I pretended to reach for it, letting him pull it away. "Gimme that..." I said slowly as I crawled toward him. He started growling, whipping the toy from left to right as he backed up, playing along. At the last second, I reached up and snatched it from him. I put it on my shoulder and pretended to pet it, "Is this my baby?" I asked him innocently, "Such a good baby!" Laughing, I watched as Charlie lunged for the toy and yanked it off my shoulder.
     He ran to the other side of the room and stood looking at me with the toy in his mouth. His tail wagging the whole time. I asked him again, "Where's your baby?" He happily ran back over to me with the toy swinging from his mouth. I pulled it toward me, dragging him along as he refused to let go. I loosened my grip and he pulled back. I switched from sitting on my knees to sitting cross legged, this was going to go on for a while, I might as well be comfy...