The Little Pack

For the next week or so I will be sharing some of our favorite memories about each one of our little pack. Today is Dixie’s turn, and although she has only been with us since last October, we have known her since she was about 3 months old. This is our first meeting.

We came home for Christmas one year and stayed with family. They had just gotten Dixie, and she was all of about 3 pounds. She was this tiny, white fluffball with a huge, fluffy tail and just about the cutest thing I had ever seen. We loved her instantly. Jackson, however, was not so sure. He felt threatened by this little wee thing. He decided to show her who’s boss, ran up to her and snapped right in her face. She immediately began to yipe, “Aye Yie Yie Yie Yie Yie Yie” over and over again. I was horrified, thinking that Jackson had hurt her. Jackson panicked, ran across the room to the farthest corner away from her and punished himself by laying down in the closet. Turns out, Dixie was not hurt, she was just scared and Jack’s bravado was blown.

And so was the beginning of a long love affair. Don’t get me wrong, he hated her for the rest of the week.  Several months later, we moved in while we built a house nearby. He kept the pretense up. But little by little, he began to weaken until he grudgingly found himself liking her. In the beginning, he would only play with her outside, when no one was watching. Then, when we were all downstairs, they would chase each other all over the upstairs. He thought he was hiding this from us since we couldn’t see him, but he didn’t realize that we could hear them. Gradually, they began to play in front of us until they could no longer contain their excitement and love for one another. Now they absolutely adore each other, and I am sure Jackson is happy that Dixie has come to live with us.