Lily and Duke

It is really heartwarming to see the unique relationship that has developed between Lily and Duke over the past 17 (almost 18!) months. They interact remarkably like human siblings. There is a lot of playing, sharing, and affection, interspersed with moments of tail-pulling (by Lily) and knocking down (by Duke), but they are always quick to forgive one another. As the big brother, Duke is very patient with Lily, enduring "horsey rides" with a look of pained acquiescence on his face. He is also very devoted to her...he sleeps outside her door at night until Jake and I go to bed, and he sits by her for every meal (which is not at all an unselfish gesture, since she would feed him her entire plate if we let her). Lily will not take a bath or climb the stairs without Duke, and she won't go to bed until she tells him goodnight. She definitely tries to play "owner" with him, telling him 'sit' and 'good boy' for treats. She loves to put the leash on him and take him for a "walk," which is basically him walking her around the yard. But she also considers him a part of the family, much more so even than Jake and I do. For example, at nighttime, while we are putting on her pajamas, she loves to put on 'chappie.' (this is a tube of Burt's Bees chapstick that I gave her, which she has named Chappie and treats like her friend) She puts it on her lips, then Mommy's, then Daddy's, and then she always says 'Duke chappie.' We don't let her do it, of course, since Duke doesn't really have lips and that's a little bit icky, but she doesn't seem to understand why she would share something with Mommy and Daddy and not with Duke. She treats him like she would anyone else, and I find that so sweet and touching...it reminds me how blind and pure a child's love is.