Teo

I’ll cut right to the chase – Teo tried to follow me up the stairs last night when I went to brush my teeth.  Earlier in the day I caught him with one paw up on the first tread, and promptly put up the baby gate.  Later in the day, the cat knocked down the gate and I was cleaning so I forgot to put it back up.  So, I start brushing teeth and I hear the clear and distinct sound of paws on wood.  He had made it up 6 or 7 stair and was making the move for more.  With visions of broken limbs and a head first slide down to the bottom racing through my mind I got to him before he could turn around and I carried him down.  And the baby gate is back up.

While this adventure barely meets the criteria of near miss (he had no intention of going down, it was bed time and his bed used to be upstairs), it was a perfect illustration of Teo’s desire to do what he pleases.  After a few growls and groans, we aren’t using the sheet sling to get him outside – “I’ll do it on my own!”.  And he has decided its time to greet everyone at the door with the standard plea for rubs and much tail wagging.  He has re-kindled his extreme love for his elk femur and squeaky toys and short of chasing the cat, I’d say he’s acting very normally.

Today more of the same.  Snow rolling, a little sage field exploration to mark more drop zones and a strong protest to going back inside.  He’s gonna be just fine any way this all plays out.