Thank you so much to Jen at Fetching Tags for inviting Jingle to be part of the fun! Find out who won the competition for Jingle’s tagline here! 

Then, order a tag for your own four legged friend. You know you want to.  

I’m very happy for Jingle for receiving this prestigious award, but I can’t imagine who she is referring to in the parenthesis?

Looking at this blog it would appear Riley and Jingle just lay around on the floor all day, snuggling.

Well.

Um.

Not all day.

Jingle is being featured over at Fetching Tags. If you come up with the winning tag line for her, you win a free “fetching tag” for your own pet!  Look at the tags! They are so clever and cute!

C’mon all you creative people! Jingle is counting on you.

Riley is not an “in your face” touchy-feely kind of kid. She’s more reserved.

Seth is, “I love you Jingle, I love you, you’re the best dog, the very best girl, the cutest, oh you’re so cute, SOOO CUTE, aren’t you? Aren’t you the cutest girl?”

And Jingle loves both of them.

At first we were worried Jingle might bond with Seth rather than Riley, because he is so full on with his love for her. We were adamant only Riley could give Jingle treats,etc. Even though Jingle returns Seth’s loving adoration tenfold, it’s Riley she positions herself next to. In the photo above, you see the kids playing. Jingle sits close to Riley, not Seth. Riley’s foot is making contact with Jingle as they play. This happens a lot. She’ll be doing school work, or practicing cello, her foot resting on Jingle. It’s very subtle.  

If Riley gets upset, Jingle follows her.

When Riley unzips her cello case, Jingle knows it’s time to work. 

I’ve seen a definite increase in their bond over the last month since we started homeschooling.

One time Riley got upset and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her. Jingle cried her eyes out on the other side, waiting to get in.

The bond with Riley and Jingle isn’t anything that can be forced.

The bond with Seth and Jingle isn’t anything that can be stopped.

Love is love, it unfolds how it’s supposed to, in it’s own time, if we relax and allow and let it happen.

“I’m glad Jingle’s a cute service dog,” she says.

“Me too,” I say, glancing back at the two of them on the floor. Jingle’s leg is straight out, paw resting on Riley’s chest. Riley is petting the dog’s ear.

“Because if she wasn’t cute, she couldn’t help me.”  

“Why not?” I ask.

Because I might be afraid of her.

Good point.

We are homeschooling Riley these days and life is a lot less stressful. We do the bulk of academic work in the morning when Riley is fresh but there are still plenty of opportunities for Jingle to help. She goes with Riley to martial arts, to dance class, to clay sculpture class and to cello.  

In the picture above you see the ever loyal Jingle, resting at Riley’s feet. She’s been to every cello lesson thus far, and has only been called into service once. It was really cool how it all worked out that day. Riley got confused about the lesson and started to melt. I took the cello away and got her to the floor where Jingle moved in and did her thing. Riley’s amazing cello teacher got right down on the floor with them and together, they went over the music theory that had Riley stressed. They talked it through, Riley whimpering and stroking Jingle’s ear all the while. It was touch and go for a few minutes, but the crises was quickly averted.

Thanks Jingle!

Girrrrl! It’s so good to see you! I cried my eyes out last night knowing you were just two houses down, and outside in the yard. Would it have killed my lady to take me over to say hello? I could hardly pee I was so sad. Granted, we’d had a play date already yesterday, but these humans have no idea how hard it is to be cooped up in the house. They’ve barely walked me lately with all this snow.

Girrrl! I hear that. I get so depressed in the winter. I’ve gained, like, 20 pounds over the last year. Sigh. I feel like a Lab.

Stop it! You don’t look fat at all. Your coat has just filled out. Don’t ever say anything like that about yourself again. Now c’mon, let’s go sniff.

Yeah. C’mon. Let’s.