Magic

Morning: Cooper accompanied Mac on his visit to the pedorthist. They needed to make casts of his feet and ankles. The casts required five minutes of drying time before they were sawed off. No problem for boy or dog, even the noise of the saw didn't bother them.

Afternoon: We had planned a repeat visit with Chloe for Cooper to sit at the front door while she played across the house in the dining room. Today, she barely looked at Cooper for the first 20 minutes as she was playing around the corner, out of sight. We tried a few tricks to get Chloe to watch Cooper and get her closer. We played ball for a bit.

Then magic occurred. On her own, Chloe brought Cooper a bowl of water. As usual he enthusiastically drank the "new" water. She tentatively patted his back. He finished the water and she refilled his bowl. More petting. I asked for some cereal and Chloe brought a bowl of Kix. With Cooper distracted, she seemed to know this was a good time to touch him. (Note: he has never shown any signs of food aggression.) She followed my lead and offered some from her hand -licking was funny. She remained in close proximity with frequent touching for the duration of our visit. At one time she was lying in the floor in front of Cooper drawing his picture.

We pushed the envelope a bit as her mother walked Cooper around the house. A moving dog was scarier. Eventually, Chloe walked him around the house, with a little help. After our last session, never in my wildest dreams did I think we would reach this point today. It was difficult to leave this magical place ...