When I was a little girl, I always longed for a dog. I used to love my neighbor's dog, Lucy, even though she smelled strong and left hair in the bed at my best friend's place. She was a sweet, mild-temperred dog and I was infatuated with her. When she passed away of old age, she left a big hole.
For my birthday when I was in grade two, a friend gave me a little ivory coloured stuffed dog that looked just like Lucy and I used to pretend that it was her. I would leave a little dish of water or food in my room for her and sometimes I would put "Lucy" on a leash and walk her up and down the street in front of my house. The cars used to zip by pretty fast and I figured, to anyone looking out the window driving by, "Lucy" might look like a real dog. I did this until one day someone told me that I had a nice "dog" and I knew they were just pretending she was real for my benefit. I stopped walking Lucy. But I still have her and she was one of my favorites for a long time.
Before we got Abe, (we were weeks away from picking him up), I saw a toy Samoyed in a children's store. I bought him in excitement and anticipation of our new arrival: a mini-Abe. Well, Gabriel has really taken a liking to mini-Abe. Today Gabriel was carrying Abe's leash around the house (a favorite thing to do) and so I leashed mini-Abe for him. This sent him off in a flurry of excitement doing laps on the hallway with mini-Abe trailing behind. He walked that dog all over the house for the better part of an hour with a vice-grip on that leash like you wouldn't believe. We even put out some water and food (Cheerios) for his little doggy, which Gabriel ate and then fed to Abe.
I think Abe was a little jealous of all the attention his replica was getting but the upside is that, because Gabriel was spending so much time walking his doggy, he finally left Abe in peace for most of the day.
Here is a little clip of Gabriel "walking his doggy."
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