It’s hard to believe that Stanley turned one this week. I’m having such guilt about 
not throwing him a party but I did sing “Happy Birthday.” The only problem is that the way he was staring at me and tilting his head back and forth, I think I may have been hurting his ears.
It seems like just yesterday that I was falling in love with the tiny puppy cuddled in my lap. Now I could probably fit in his lap
GUS Do dogs have laps?
ELBEE No they don’t.
Watching him go through different ages and stages has been a fascinating journey. I don’t remember the other Doods changing so much from month to month. It’s probably because I’ve been writing about him. Let’s be honest, if I didn’t have baby books for the daughters and they asked me trick questions like “at what age did I walk?” I’d have to make up the answers. Just kidding.
ELBEE Way too much oversharing. Not kidding.
GUS Do I have a babybook?
There have always seemed to be two Stanleys, the sweet well behaved one and the totally trying one. From toddler to teen, he could be cuddling one minute and then carrying on like a silly puppy the next. At one point, when he was being disruptive in class, I even asked the trainer what was wrong with him and she replied, “Oh he’s a teenager.”
I’m not saying he’s perfect, far from it, but the last month or so has been a real calming period which is fortunate because he is a big boy! He plays beautifully with Gus and Elbee, seeming to realize that his size can be intimidating. He follows me and the husband around the house, just wanting to be near us. When we come home, he’s the picture of sheer quiet joy, no mouthing, no barking.
When we’re out walking, he’s showing more impulse control. I can see there are times when he’s ready to jump on someone but then somehow stops himself. We met a woman in a wheelchair and he just leaned against her while we talked.
On the other hand, he is a huge attention seeker. If I start to brush one of the other two, he will push them out of the way so that I’ll brush him. If someone is not giving him the attention he thinks he deserves, he has a ridiculous go to move. He starts spinning around yanking on his own leash, or on Gus’s if he’s with us. Unfortunately, it works. People usually start laughing and are immediately engaged.
I was afraid I had another diva in the making but I suddenly realized that he was the definition of a ham, someone who says and does silly things to get attention. I confess, he gets it from my side of the family.
His namesake, my brother Stanley, was a ham in the very best sense of the word. Whether it was an audience of two or two hundred he would have them eating out of his hand. My father was the ultimate ham. When I was a little girl we’d spend summers at my grandparents’ hotel in the Catskills. My dad would emcee the shows and entertain the guests. He was that guy…the one everyone knew and loved.
When, with luck, the day comes that Stanley is a therapy dog, being a ham may 
be a good thing. He can shower people with love and kindness and then leave them laughing.
