Sabrina's Ways

Now that Sabrina is 5 months old, she is really beginning to develop into her own. And we are beginning to really see who she is. She is learning her role in our family and I, too, have to see her for whom she is. Frequently, I realize that I try to get her to be just as Riley is. Yesterday morning, I had a sudden realization that what I had perceived as a naughty, I've-told-you-over-and-over-again-and-you're-still-not-doing-the-right-thing Sabrina, was really Sabrina doing things a little differently.

Sabrina is known to pick up anything and everything that is laying around in the house, left on a shelf, left on the coffee table, and yes, left on the kitchen counter. She seems to always wants to have something in her mouth. This is a Flattie's personality I hear. She seems to go by the motto: finder's keepers. I come home from work everyday and brace myself to what I will find in my home. A pile of shredded tissues? The gardening tools strewn about? Branches of the tree torn down? And what I keep telling myself is, she hasn't really destroyed anything yet. She just likes to displace things and shred paper. Even when we are home, Sabrina picks up our slippers, our shoes, or clothes and likes to walk around with it in her mouth. When she was younger, she seemed like she was everywhere moving all of our stuff all of the time. Now that she is 5 months old, she seems to have refined her motive. Yesterday morning, I dug out my Uugs for the upcoming cold weather. I left them at the top of the stairs while I went into the bedroom to change. 10 seconds later, Sabrina appears with a boot in her mouth. My initial instinct was to scold her and give her the command, "out" but before I could, she dropped it nicely at my feet. I suddently realized who Sabrina is. She is a retriever. And she was bringing me the boots that I "dropped" outside the bedroom. Coming to this realization brought me great relief. She's not just being naughty, she's just trying to do what her instincts are telling her to do. She's doing things her way and I love her for being her.