Читать книгу The reincarnation of Molly, the German Shepherd - Thomas Rogers Walter - Страница 8

Kelly was clearly delighted about Molly's new home. She also saw that I had a knack for handling dogs, which reassured her noticeably. After a few weeks, Kelly visited us once more to say goodbye to her dog forever. I saw that it was difficult for Kelly to say goodbye to Molly. She had given her a home and taken good care of her, but she simply lacked experience with big dogs and didn't know how to train them. Molly integrated into our family quickly, taking on her position as a new member of the family. Molly playfully learned the basic understanding of general household commands. I was very familiar with the body language of dogs and how they communicate. That was how I could sense that Molly not only felt at home with us, it also seemed to have been her wish to live in a family-oriented environment. She almost always wanted to be close to me and quickly developed a protective instinct for our Jasmin. Molly was so cuddly and affectionate that even my mother, Grandma Liesel, let her into her carpeted apartment when we came to visit. Grandma Liesel usually also had a few pieces of sausage for Molly.

Our Molly was loved by everyone and she was a welcome guest. I would like to share a funny episode from her life. One of Molly's habits, which I thought was strange for a German Shepherd, was wanting to jump into the bathtub daily to be lathered with Magic Coat dog shampoo. I just had to snap my fingers and Molly would be sitting in the bathtub letting herself be washed like a little child. However, we weren't going to adopt the same frequency with which Kelly would wash her. She would have to be content with a shower every six to eight weeks, unless she had decided to roll in sheep manure. This was a habit she was never able to give up. Whenever we went on a walk, if I didn't immediately ask her to keep walking she would immediately roll in sheep manure in an attempt to smell like a sheep. I think this is an old instinct passed down from wolves so that their prey would not detect them as a threat.

Her favorite spot to sleep that she chose for herself wasn't one that we considered appropriate for our dog. Her previous owner let her sleep directly in front of the bed. Kelly told us that her husband was often on the road that was why she allowed Molly to stay so close to her. "But not at our house," Manuela said. She did not want to let a dog sleep next to her bed. So Molly learned to sleep on the dog bed that was provided for her in the living room beside the big three-seater sofa. She also made herself comfortable there when the family sat together watching TV. Sometimes Molly would look at us as if to say, "There is still one spot free up on the sofa".

A few weeks went by, when one Sunday morning I was woken by Manuela saying, "Do you hear Molly licking her lips? Doesn't it seem louder than usual?" As I turned on the light I saw Molly lying at the end of our bed, playing with her stuffed toy, as if it was a completely normal thing for her to do. Although it was very cute, it was absolutely forbidden for her to stay in the bedroom. For training purposes Molly had to spend three nights on a long leash tied to the corner bench in the dining area in our living room, which only enabled her to sleep on her dog bed. After these three nights, Molly knew where her bed was and I was certain that she wouldn't get lost in our bedroom again. Due to Molly’s age, it was very easy to playfully teach the important commands to her using hand signals, and she was very obedient. She immediately obeyed all the commands she had been taught and she obeyed each family member when they gave commands. She was cautious with all visitors and wouldn't listen to them when they gave her commands. It was also obvious that Molly preferred to be petted by her family than by our friends or acquaintances. However, she was always ready to cuddle with Kurt, the first visitor in her new home who Molly probably never forgot.

Time flew by, and after the birth of Niko there were five of us in our home. Yes, in the meantime we counted Molly as a member of our family too. She always behaved as if she was one of our children.

Not a day went by that didn't bring a wonderful experience with it. Of course, our children loved this cuddly dog more than their stuffed animals. Niko would scratch Molly behind her ears nonstop, which she really liked, and you could see how much she loved it when Jasmin joined in to pet her belly.

It looked like Molly was getting a wellness treatment massage when this happened.

We didn't know who was following whom, however wherever Molly lay, Niko was there and Molly could usually be found wherever Niko was. The friendship of this inseparable team was held together by an invisible bond. No matter where we spent our free time with Niko, Jasmin and Molly, one thing was certain. Although Molly would stay beside Manuela and myself, she was always intently watching our two little ones. When our children joined a group of playmates and Niko and Jasmin separated to play with other girls and boys, Molly was able to tell us at any distance where they were located. I simply had to ask where Niko and Jasmin were and her head would immediately move like a satellite dish. When I looked between her ears I would always see my children running around amidst the other children. Molly had great hearing: she could differentiate the voices of our children from the muddle of noises and other children yelling at any time. Or she could find their scent and use it to find them anywhere.