Rafa and Olivia

There's a title for a children's book!  A while back I posted about our concerns on how Rafa would react when Olivia was finally here... him being the baby of the house up until then.  Well, I've been meaning to write about it for a while but have forgotten about it, so here it goes.

When we were looking to get a dog I was sure I wanted a terrier.  I love the terrier personality, it's vivacity and tenacity.  They are so expressive and cool!  In Costa Rica my dog Ozzie is a Scottish Terrier and I fell in love with him the minute I got him.  I missed him terribly and I knew it was no replacement, but since I couldn't have him in Norway, I would try to find a dog that matched him somehow.  So we started reading about terriers and which one would be the best match for us since we had plans to eventually start a family.  Scottish Terriers were out of the question, apparently they are not so good with small children... so that was a bummer.  After a lot of research we found out that Welsh Terriers were the "perfect baby sitter" and so we started out quest to find one and we did!  In Madrid while we were living there in 2008.  We saw him and we loved him right away, and so, we got him.  Rafa made our stay in Madrid unforgettable.  He made us belong!  We still daydream about our days strolling the streets of our second home (or third?!?! Norway, Costa Rica, Madrid).  

For the past three years our little family has been quite wonderful.  Now we have one more member, Miss Olivia, and Rafa is indeed the perfect babysitter.  He is so curious about her, he checks on her all the time to see that she's there.  He gets very frustrated when she cries and desperately wants to help, he sniffs her and kisses her, he has become all of a sudden, a very mature, patient and easy going pet and we love him for that, because he has made our lives less complicated than we thought.  So here's to people with pets with babies on the way:  our trick was to let him be part of the process, to let him feel like he belongs in our little group, and that a baby doesn't mean less cuddles, but a new best friend.