Channeling My Big Brother

We've said before that it was a blessing in disguise that our big brother Hunter didn't have to make the move to our new location.  He would have hated the looooong drive to get here and the heat would have been too much for him.  We miss him very much, but our parents have noticed something strange in the past year.  I seem to be channeling several of Hunter's habits (the good ones and the bad ones)!

You may remember Dixie is the one who spent the most time with Hunter. She joined him when she was just a puppy.  I didn't join the family until I was almost two years old.  I only spent about three and half years with Hunter before he passed away.  Some of these strange habits I've "picked up" he didn't even do anymore by the time I knew him!  Weird huh?

Here's a few pictures from my first meeting with Hunter:

Mommy and Daddy have recently been keeping a list of the many ways I've started to act like my brother:  (We don't have pics of everything, so lots of reading involved!)

1. Hunter loved to eat paper (including cardboard).  He'd come running when he heard a nose being blown or the roll of the toilet paper!  I do the same thing with the exception that I don't go into the bathroom looking for paper when my parents aren't in there.  Out of sight, out of mind.

2. He also loved to eat snow!  Me too!

3. Hunter LOVED to play fetch with anything that was thrown.  I love to play fetch as well and don't care what you throw, just throw it!

 Playing baseball with Daddy

 Trying to convince Mommy to throw that giant mangled tennis ball . . .

Waiting on Daddy to throw the pallina in a game of bocce ball . . . 

4. He carried his toys around the house in his mouth.  I do this often.  I even pull Hunter's very first toy (yep, it's still alive after all these years!) out of the toy box and carry it around sometimes.

5. Hunter became very good at trying to predict which way Mommy was going to throw or kick the ball.  She says I'm the same way, and I try to get in front of the ball every time.

6. Hunter had a very strong tail.  (Once he cleared a coffee table and broke a candlestick.  At least that's Daddy's story and he's sticking to it.)  I'm often called Thumper because of my heavy tail.  I've cleaned the coffee table off, but so far I haven't broken anything.  Crossing my paws . . .

7. Hunter wasn't trained as a puppy to ring the bell to go out.  He tried it a couple times when Dixie was learning, but mostly he just gave my parents the stare down until they noticed he was in need.  I try not to ring the bell either.  I prefer my big brother's stare method.  If I ring the bell, it's because I'm desperate!

8. We're all guilty of begging for food at some time.  Daddy could tell Hunter, "Don't beg!" and he'd look away as if he wasn't watching what was happening in the food department.  Hunter watched from the corner of his eyes instead.  I do the same thing!  As if I'm NOT going to notice food!  Ha!

9. When Hunter was an only child, he liked to sleep with my parents.  He would burrow between the two of them and stretch out his legs to push against one or the other to make more room for himself.  I've been told I'm doing this too lately.  I never slept in the bed at our old house, but I've been given a little more freedom here and I LOVE it!

10. Sometimes that burrowing in the bed is apparently disruptive or annoying for my parents.  I can't imagine why.  Hunter soon learned the command to go to his bed and he'd hop off and move to the dawg bed kept in our parents' room.  This is a fairly new command for me, but I know it well!  I'm even using the same bed!  Maybe all of Hunter's habits are sinking in through osmosis???

11. Hunter was famous around our house for his loud moans and groans as he laid down (and that was even before he grew old).  I apparently sound just like him some days!

12. My big brother annoyed Mommy to no end when he came into the bedroom and proceeded to rub himself all along the edge of the bed getting hair and dirt on the dust ruffle.  Mommy said Hunter had one thing going for him that I apparently don't when I do the same thing: he didn't shed nearly as much and his hair blended a little better on our khaki linens than my black hairs do!  [sigh]

13. Last but not least, our parents love both of us endlessly! (And Dixie too, I guess!)

There's a nasty rumor going around the house that a new chocolate lab puppy will be joining us soon.  We hear it's a boy.  Wonder if he too will be able to pick up on some of these family traits???

Inquiring minds want to know,
Jenna


PS: Happy Mother's Day and  Happy Birthday to Uncle W!  And belated birthday wishes to Poppa yesterday.  

PSS:  Today would've been Hunter's birthday too. Perhaps eventually Mommy won't mark the date, but it's not this year!