Mammals have affinity. Add to that some aspect of spiritual kinship and it’s understandable why some humans do what they do. Harley the wonder-pup is, literally, living proof.
Harley is a mutt. As of this writing he’s just under eight weeks old and tipping the letter scale at seven pounds. He’s a lively critter who never knew his mother. Well, the four legged one.
It seems that within hours of birth Harley and two other siblings were culled from a large litter. Culled = dragged far away and dropped in a yard. A young human asked his parents about the little thing in the yard one evening and the race was on. The race to save Harley and his sisters. The adoptive family provided every measure of care possible for such young pups. After two days Harley was alone. Of course, with his eyes closed, he didn’t know that. He just knew that he was frequently picked up, cuddled, fed tasty “milk” and moved around a lot in a warm basket.
Too young to leave alone, the adoptive parents, who happened to work at the same place, were able to bring Harley to work and, during breaks, feed him. Most of the time Harley slept in the pet carrier. Other staff (the momma genes were in full operational mode) volunteered as surrogates and by the time the pup opened his eyes, he was surrounded most days by a bevy of adoring mothers. Ah, the dog’s life...
Harley has a wonderful attitude - eat, sleep, and play. The little pup quickly learned the geography of the interesting world he inhabited most days. Still too young to be left alone, the mobile and chewing Harley learned how to train his extended family to let him outside on the grass when he needed to go. During people breaks he would often follow them out of the building to the grounds and spend as much time frolicking as possible. With several humans and limited time, Harley had to carefully manage his attentions in order to be fair. Of course, such activity took its toll and as the humans returned to the building Harley would enter his “office” and nap for a while.
Next week Harley hits the age of independence - when puppies can be weaned and left alone. I’m sure Harley will adjust to spending his days in the “night home” and his memory of romps at the office will fade.
There will be, of course, serious cases of separation anxiety with his surrogate moms and friends. Harley’s adventures made for a delightful spring. Thanks to a pair of humans.
Harley is a mutt. As of this writing he’s just under eight weeks old and tipping the letter scale at seven pounds. He’s a lively critter who never knew his mother. Well, the four legged one.
It seems that within hours of birth Harley and two other siblings were culled from a large litter. Culled = dragged far away and dropped in a yard. A young human asked his parents about the little thing in the yard one evening and the race was on. The race to save Harley and his sisters. The adoptive family provided every measure of care possible for such young pups. After two days Harley was alone. Of course, with his eyes closed, he didn’t know that. He just knew that he was frequently picked up, cuddled, fed tasty “milk” and moved around a lot in a warm basket.
Too young to leave alone, the adoptive parents, who happened to work at the same place, were able to bring Harley to work and, during breaks, feed him. Most of the time Harley slept in the pet carrier. Other staff (the momma genes were in full operational mode) volunteered as surrogates and by the time the pup opened his eyes, he was surrounded most days by a bevy of adoring mothers. Ah, the dog’s life...
Harley has a wonderful attitude - eat, sleep, and play. The little pup quickly learned the geography of the interesting world he inhabited most days. Still too young to be left alone, the mobile and chewing Harley learned how to train his extended family to let him outside on the grass when he needed to go. During people breaks he would often follow them out of the building to the grounds and spend as much time frolicking as possible. With several humans and limited time, Harley had to carefully manage his attentions in order to be fair. Of course, such activity took its toll and as the humans returned to the building Harley would enter his “office” and nap for a while.
Next week Harley hits the age of independence - when puppies can be weaned and left alone. I’m sure Harley will adjust to spending his days in the “night home” and his memory of romps at the office will fade.
There will be, of course, serious cases of separation anxiety with his surrogate moms and friends. Harley’s adventures made for a delightful spring. Thanks to a pair of humans.
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