Are you my mother?

"Are You My Mother?" is a children's book by P.D. Eastman. I remember having it as a child and probably remember it more recently from my sister's children. It's the story of a bird that hatches when the mother is away from the nest. The hatchling is confused and goes off in search of his mother, posing his maternity question to everything he encounters: a chicken, dog, cow, kitten, and even a boat and an airplane. Ultimately he is delivered back to his nest and is reunited with his mother, a happy ending and a nice Mother's Day story.

This little guy is a rottie mix pup. He is very scared and has had a rough start in life. He was found with a litter of pups, none of whom look at all like him. I suspect that his early memories, if he has any, would be the stuff of puppy nightmares. Although they say that dogs live in the moment, they do often carry baggage from their past. In the case of puppies, it is often less about the bad stuff that happened to them and more about missed development opportunities. This little guy missed out on bonding with humans.

In the beginning he would run, hide, squeal, and then urinate when I'd pick him up. He has mostly stopped the urination and most of the squealing, and there is generally less effort put into running and avoiding me now, but he still has a way to go.

Once I pick him up, he's relatively calm and lets me cradle him on his back even. Well socialized rotties really crave contact. This little guy just doesn't know what he's missing. He's going to become my constant companion this next week until he learns to love me.