Keaton's Discoveries

Playtime!

Keaton’s Discoveries is our new column written by three year old rescue boxer, Keaton (named after Diane Keaton), who is navigating life now as an indoor dog. And while she did have a couple male boxers in the backyard with her these last three years in her previous life (after all, she did get pregnant three times), and probably played with them, having a tiny human buddy is entirely new. As we approach the two month mark, these two have become inseparable. But I’ll let her tell you about it….

I have a brother now. A human brother. His name is—well, Mom calls him by his name but I call him Brother. At first, I wasn’t sure about him. He’s loud. He moves unpredictably. Sometimes he runs for no reason, which is suspicious behavior if you ask me. Plus he seemed to get a lot of mom’s attention and I admit, I wanted her all to myself. I spent the first week observing him from a safe distance, conducting what I considered to be very important anthropological research. Pete and I would watch him from the couch, and I’d think, “what exactly is his deal?” But then one day he sat down on the living room floor, looked right at me, and said “Keaton, play with me!”

Play. PLAY? I knew this word from Mom, but I thought it was just a Mom thing. A special activity reserved for the person who feeds me and lets me sleep on top of her. But Brother was holding Pete—MY Pete—and waving him around, and before my brain could fully process what was happening, my body made an executive decision and I POUNCED. Just full on launched myself at him. And he laughed! This delighted, genuine laugh that made me think maybe I’d done something right? So I did it again. And again. And suddenly we were PLAYING, like actual playing, and I was running in circles around him and he was chasing me and I was chasing Pete and everything was chaos and JOY and I couldn’t remember why I’d been so suspicious of this person.

Here’s what I’ve learned about Brother: he plays different than Mom. Mom is gentle and careful and always checking to make sure I’m okay, which I appreciate, truly. But Brother? Brother gets DOWN there. He rolls around on the floor. He makes these ridiculous noises that make me lose my entire mind. He hides under blankets and jumps out, and even though I KNOW he’s there…I can smell him. I’m not an AMATEUR! I still act surprised every single time because it makes him laugh. And his laugh is like a reward. Like I’ve won something just by being silly with him.

We have this game now where he’ll run with Pete full speed into the bedroom and jump on the bed. And I race after him and tackle them both. Rolling around the bed, chewing on his arms making him giggle. Then I snatch Pete and run off with him, doing these victory laps around the coffee table while he chases me, and it’s the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever experienced. Better than ice cream. Different than ice cream. Ice cream is a feeling, but this? This is CONNECTION. This is having someone whose entire face lights up when you enter a room. Someone who says “Keaton” like no one else and makes my nub betray every attempt at playing it cool.

Yesterday, after we’d been playing for what felt like hours….probably ten minutes, I’m not great with time….I just flopped down right next to him on the carpet. Completely sprawled out, panting, Pete clutched in my mouth like a cigar. And Brother just laid there too, catching his breath, and he reached over and scratched behind my ears in that perfect spot, and he said “I love you, Keaton.” And I thought: I have a brother. A real brother. Someone who sees me not as the scared backyard dog I used to be, but as someone worth playing with. I really can’t believe this is my family now.

Love you already,

Keaton

Thank you everyone for tuning in to Keaton’s Discoveries. Next Tuesday she will be sharing her newest obsession: shoes. You can see more of her adventures on her Instagram (@5149Management).

Boxer Soul: A Memory Journal is available now in paperback and hardcover here. It is a way to write about the memories you share with your boxer dog. Filled with prompts to help get you started, blank pages for pictures/sketches/notes etc. Just something to help save all the memories with that breed that is truly like no other. If you want to have a custom hardcover featuring your boxer painted inside, a limited number is available in my shop (while supplies last).