9 Jan 2007

The Swing

Some incredibly sweet friends of ours who just happen to have 3 awfully large dogs, but more on that in a second, have just put a swing in their beautiful back garden. Now mind you this isn't an ordinary swing. They had to have special equipment to install it as it hangs in such a high tree. When you are swinging your tummy does flip flops just from the arc on it. It is wonderful and when you get going really high you can see over the fence and see the horses next door. They told me to bring Lily over to play on it and I did.

Oh yes the doggies. As I mentioned in an earlier post I have a very BIG fear of dogs due to the fact that I was bitten very badly when I was 5 by a neighbours dog that I had known my entire life. That did it for me and I have shaken in my shoes literally ever since when a dog is near, even our family pets. If you look at one of the photos you will see the biggest Doberman on the planet. Her name is Shadow and I have to give Shadow credit for turning my phobia of dogs into a sort of controlled fear. The first time I went to this house I think I nearly passed out but my friends new the deal with me and explained that their dogs are therapy dogs at Miami Childrens Hospital and would never hurt anyone. In my head I said, yeah right, the dog that bit me would never hurt anyone blah blah blah lady! But as the months went by and it has now been years I started to gingerly touch Shadow and she never even moved. Fast forward to now when I have to spend at least 5 minutes alone with Shadow when I go there with no other dogs around so her and I can have special time. Don't get me wrong, I am never left alone with her cos that is too freaky for me but this dog is beyond special and I can actually say that I care about her and that is something that I never thought I would ever say about a dog again. As for the Retriever, that is Miss Sophie and she is a hoot and couldnt hurt a fly if she tried. It is really hard for me not to show this fear to Lily and instead teach her respect but she wasnt fazed by the size of Shadow and Sophie at all and just loved the swing and the lounge chair, well until Sophie tried to climb on board as well.

Oh I did say 3 dogs, Snickers was feeling anti social that afternoon and chose to stay inside.


This is so much fun.

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Behind my cousin are the BIG doggies

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This is a bit blurry...or maybe it is your eyeballs

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Can I play too?

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10 comments:

PIPO said...

That swing looks like fun! What a great idea.

Good for you for making strides in the understandable doggy fear dept. and good for Lily that she is getting to experience those nice pups.

3D said...

That looks like a really good swing!

Good for you for starting to feel more comfortable around dogs. I can relate. My aunt and uncle had an airedale and he snapped and growled at me all the time. Scared me but I still love dogs. Until I got my own, I was never fully comfortable. Now, as a Master, no fear of any dog. I am the human...bigger on the food chain.

Keep smilin!

Anonymous said...

Oh man, we are so jealous over here. We love swinging and that one looked especially cool. We have watched the video about 10 times (so far) and everytime you ask YOUR Lily if she is having fun MY Lily answers "yeah"!!
P.S. Way to conquer your fear!

Anonymous said...

Good for you for stepping out of your comfort zone with the whole dog thing, not a big fan here either! Looks like you had a lot to fun!! :)

Anonymous said...

I want that swing!!! How fun is that? I have a "controlled" fear of most dogs as well. I do not even have a horrific story to share...I sam specially fearful of German Shepherds.

Anonymous said...

What a fun swing and adorable video!

Anonymous said...

Awesome video - what a fun time - Oh and thanks for the fingernail polish tip - I will be on the lookout for that - haven't see it before!!!

Anonymous said...

What precious pics. We are presently paperchasing and I am really enjoying these enouraging blogs

Anonymous said...

Great Swing.. looks like amazing fun. (I love to swing)

So sorry to hear about your horrible experience with a dog in your early years. But, glad to see that you are willing to give these dogs a chance at helping you overcome the "severity" of your fears.

Ann said...

I love the swing. It looks like so much fun. As far as the dogs...I'm so sorry sweetie. I'm a HUGE dog person and I love big dogs. Come see our sweeties, our little one's only 60 pounds and our puppy is around 90 pounds. But so so sweet and when they shake their tails their bottoms swag back and forth. We'll turn your phobia into love!!

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