Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Saturday, February 28, 2015: Tommy Meets Some of the Relatives/Children

After all the hassles of the night, we awoke to begin a semi-normal Saturday. I did need to go to a funeral visitation, but since I had a bad cold, I knew that I wouldn’t be gone very long.  We had our usual morning routine and then I left.
When I returned a little over an hour later, Tommy made sure that I remembered to spend some quality time with her. I also spent some time talking to my older sister on the phone and Tommy graciously allowed me that time.
I noticed midafternoon that there was a message on the answering machine from my goddaughter asking if we could get together during the day.  Since I knew that her family was meeting my sister/her grandmother later, I sent a text to her mother explaining my reason for not calling back sooner.
When I got a return text, it was decided that the family would drop off my Girl Scout cookie order and meet Tommy at the same time.  When I got Tommy from the shelter, they let me know that Tommy shouldn’t be in a house with other pets or children.  It would be interesting to see who Tommy handled guests that included some children.
We spent a quiet time during the remainder of the day while I continued to rest and administer to my cold.  Tommy had been so good about letting me rest and understanding that I wouldn’t be petting her or spreading my germs on her as much as I usually did.
In the early evening the family arrived.  They have two cats so I knew that everything would be okay. I went down to greet them and bring them back up to the condo.  When I opened the door, Tommy came trotting over only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw the rest of the entourage that had entered.
She did some preliminary sniffing of their shoes before heading out of the room.  After we all had settled down in the living area, I decided to try to get Tommy to come out and formally meet everyone. I went to the study, picked up Tommy and brought her out.  No sooner had I put her down, but she retreated out of the room. I guess it was too early to expect her to warm up to the visitors.
Later I tried a second time and that time Tommy sat over in the dining area observing for quite a while before moving toward us. She went to the closest chair where my grandniece Allyson, the middle child, was seated.  Ally did such a great job of letting Tommy smell and explore.  Once she was sure that Tommy felt safe, Ally moved down to the floor to sit.
I could tell the Kyra, the youngest of the three children wanted so much for Tommy to come to her and she was patient enough that Tommy soon moved over to where Kyra was sitting on the floor. I was glad to see that Tommy was able to interact with my young relatives.
What Tommy did next pretty well shocked me.  With Ally laying on the floor, Tommy went over by her and gave her a nose kiss.  What a triumph for both of them.  It was time for them to leave and I was glad that we had ended on a good note.
When I returned from accompanying the family to the elevator I couldn’t find Tommy.  After some searching I found her up in the bookcase behind the books in one of her safe places.  I gave her much praise while trying to reassure her that everyone was gone and it was only the two of us. She finally came down on the chair and I picked her up.
I took her around the condo to let her inspect and see that all the company was gone. After giving her some well-deserved treats we spent a quiet night. I retreated to bed early and Tommy stayed out in the main room until I woke up and closed down the condo.  We then headed into the bedroom for a well-earned night’s rest.


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