The Leo Marco Chronicles, Part I

I used to be terrified of dogs. I wasn't even bit as a child, but I always had some fear that I would be.

Our family's first dog had not been spared from my, well, "aversion." So I had my regrets when he died — sure, I'd been much younger (and irresponsible) then, but looking back, I could've done more in raising him.

Hence when we decided to once more take home a dog, I'd resolved to be a better fursister!

Leo Marco (yes, he got the obligatory M-starting second name too) and I started bonding during the car ride home, which lasted for over an hour. He's notoriously energetic, and soon enough his tiny bed (which I'd propped on my lap) wasn't enough for him to explore. At the back of my mind there was still that fear that he was going to bite me, but he was only two months old then and his teeth barely hurt me. (How did I know? I let him try biting my fingers... oops.)

He had two other siblings, but we could only afford one, so he had to make do with new siblings instead. And that evening we decided to sleep together in the same room, because new baby brother must be used to huddling with his sibs and we didn't want to shock him too much. Unfortunately he had to stay in his cage, because our parents said so. He was nice about it, though! Content, even. To the point that, when a storm was brewing later that night, he didn't even flinch at the clap of thunder. I was impressed.

A good night's sleep for everyone, right?

Wrong. An hour later, he started whining. I jolted awake and rushed to his cage, panicking because I absolutely had no idea why he was crying. The storm had passed so he couldn't have been frightened, but was he afraid of the dark? I was tempted to let him out, but he was supposed to get used to sleeping in a cage, so I talked to him for a bit and tried to soothe him, before attempting to go back to sleep.

He started whining again minutes later. I tried my best to ignore him, but it was so hard. He was a baby and something had to be wrong for him to be crying. Eventually, both of us siblings got up, let him out of his cage, and moved over our pillows and blankets to the floor so we could have a slumber party instead. Our new baby brother calmed down then... or at least he stopped crying and whining. He never slept long enough, though. He'd curl up next to one of us for a few minutes, then start moving around again, exploring and climbing all over.

We had a good laugh with our parents in the morning, because it was very rare for us to be up earlier than them on a Sunday, and we both clearly did not get any real sleep. It was worth it, though! Nothing like a good old fashioned family bonding with the latest addition to the family.

And as I promised to myself, I made sure to be a hands on sister. It helped that we were still working from home then, so I had a lot of time and opportunity. Feeding, potty training, taking him outside for his walks, cleaning after his messes, making sure he didn't eat the insides of his toys, playing fetch... I even eventually learned how to administer liquid vitamins and medicines, which terrified me at first because I feared he'd bite me if I touched his mouth or held his jaw. (I also secretly helped train him to jump on and off the couch. Sssh.)

Did I mention he loves playing fetch? And he has Captain America Energy™️ that he can do it all day...