When Munky met Chucky

I don't have people-children, I have fur ones. Yet I suspect that many parallels can be drawn between the two experiences. As kids we would play outdoors and sometimes a kid would be left out for some reason; my sister, for example, would always be chosen first to be the "man-in-the-middle" of a game we called Crocodile. We would scream to the croc, "Crocodile, crocodile, may we cross your golden river?". And then we would run and the croc would try to stop us. My sister was always the croc. And she hated it.

Kids would get on, fight, not get on, make up and fight again. My parents were friendly with some of my friends parents and so we would all interact, but not with others. The same rules of social behaviour apply regardless of age. I always thought that the norm is for more kids to be friendly with each other than parents and it is rare that a group of adults get on extremely well while their kids don't. Until Munky met Chucky.

Tyson is my Munky. He's a Boxer who looks like a Monkey and who we have called Munky pretty much since before we called him Tyson. He's an even tempered guy, always happy to see you and wanting to play. He is friendly and gentle and loves to hug. 

Hamlet is an English Bulldog. He's sweet natured, stocky and obsessed with his ball, any ball. He carries his ball around all day. Hamlet also talks, he chats when he has a ball in his mouth and when he wants something. Sometimes he mutters under his breath, sometimes he sings and sometimes he shouts loudly to get your attention. 

Hamlet's mom and dad are very close friends of ours. We met many years ago briefly and then again in the dog park and before long were fast friends. We spend a lot of time together. Since moving to the County I practically live in their home as I spend so much time in Toronto. In fact when I am there, Hamlet is my in-room pet. 

Tyson and Hamlet met as infants and their friendship extended way into their childhood. They used to play in the park, and sometimes they would include Tyson's brother Troy, and Hamlet's sister Penelope. 

As teenagers they started to develop their own sense of self and one day, had a heated discussion over a stick that was unfortunately not resolved. One could liken this to a Liberal or Democrat living in the same house as a Conservative or Republican. It was never going to end well. Despite screaming "get your child off mine" in the heat of the moment, the parents remained fast friends. Over time we have learned how to handle these rambunctious, determined, stubborn boys. We can predict an argument and generally stop it before it starts. They will walk together side by side until we reach Starbucks and then move into attack mode as treats are close by. Let Tyson take one look at Hamlet's ball, and out comes Chucky, who let's Tyson know in no uncertain terms of his intentions. And like kids, Tyson will stare at him, giving him the hairy eyeball as if to say "oh yeah? you want some of this?". 

I would hate to see what happened if they both liked the same girl (dog).  

We hope that one day our kids will mature enough to let bygones be bygones, to accept that they may have their own opinions, wants and needs and that despite this they can still be friends. Or maybe they will just never get along. As parents we love our children unconditionally. And despite the occasional spat, never let this come between our own friendship. 

Sometimes we say that we can learn a thing or two from our pet companions. Sometimes they should take a lesson or two from us. 

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