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Leapin' Lhasa!
Feb. 13th, 2010 02:41 pmIt's nice having two lapdogs, in some ways. It's come to be a bit of a morning ritual: after I bring in the paper, all three of us go in to the couch. I sit with my back against the corner of the left end, with my left leg curled in front of me and my right stretched diagonally across. Gracie hops into my lap and curls up on my left leg; Buster goes into the far corner, pillowed on my right. We sit there in a comfortable heap while I read the paper and do the Sudoku; then the words "Gettin' up now!" trigger a mass movement off the coach (and some subvocalized grumbling on Gracie's part).
Laptime is a little harder to arrange when I'm in the computer room. The chair there is narrow and armless, so any dog in my lap needs a bit more in the way of support. It's not too much of a problem with Gracie; as she dances in front of me, I scoop one hand under her belly and boost her up. She spends a little time investigating my face and ears, then curls up comfortably. Buster, though, is another story. He's got twice her mass and significantly more base area; he's harder to lift into my lap (he's whimpered a time or two when I've tried) and harder to keep there without falling. But he dearly loves the opportunity, and he's finally figured out how to make it work. He comes up to the chair; I turn to him and open my arms; he gathers himself and launches upward, just strongly enough to clear my knees. I gather him in as he rises, but it's not absolutely necessary - he's got the trajectory figured precisely. He can't really curl up when I'm on that chair, but he can sit and be hugged, which is most of what he wants. (He doesn't stay up as long as Gracie does, either, which is a bit of a relief too. He's not exactly light.)
Bringing the two of them into my life was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
Laptime is a little harder to arrange when I'm in the computer room. The chair there is narrow and armless, so any dog in my lap needs a bit more in the way of support. It's not too much of a problem with Gracie; as she dances in front of me, I scoop one hand under her belly and boost her up. She spends a little time investigating my face and ears, then curls up comfortably. Buster, though, is another story. He's got twice her mass and significantly more base area; he's harder to lift into my lap (he's whimpered a time or two when I've tried) and harder to keep there without falling. But he dearly loves the opportunity, and he's finally figured out how to make it work. He comes up to the chair; I turn to him and open my arms; he gathers himself and launches upward, just strongly enough to clear my knees. I gather him in as he rises, but it's not absolutely necessary - he's got the trajectory figured precisely. He can't really curl up when I'm on that chair, but he can sit and be hugged, which is most of what he wants. (He doesn't stay up as long as Gracie does, either, which is a bit of a relief too. He's not exactly light.)
Bringing the two of them into my life was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
