The World's Greatest Stuffed Animal

This morning as I took this picture of Bruce enjoying his new birthday gift from JJ and Pops (I know, it is two months early), I thought to myself, "Poor Ernie, how life has changed for you!" Ernie came along after Tank, but he to was treated like our "baby" before the real babies entered the scene. They got all of our attention. They were brushed, walked, even sent to doggie "daycare" while we were at work. Then came baby #1, Miss Mae. The girl baby wasn't so bad for Ernie. Sure, she pulled and tugged on him a little, but for the most part she was pretty gentle. She loved playing with him and she even shared her toys, but she definitely encroached on the attention he was used to getting. Then there was baby #2. Once again, it didn't seem so bad. In the beginning, the new baby gave him something warm to snuggle up with on those cold Chicago mornings. But, just when Ernie was getting adjusted to the new addition, Whitt became mobile. Ernie soon realized there is a big difference between girl babies and boy babies. He was constantly being chased and hunted down. Mae treated him like a baby doll, very nurturing; Whitt treated him like a wrestling partner. And, finally baby #3, Bruce doesn't seem to possess quite the same energy level of Whitt, but he is more aggressive (probably due to being the youngest of three, his defense mechanisms were sharpened early on). Bruce thinks Ernie is the world's most interactive stuffed animal. A different noise comes out him every time Bruce pushes, pulls, grabs, yanks (which of course makes Ernie all the more fascinating to Bruce). Bruce literally tries to drag the poor dog around the house. Bruce loving every minute of it; Ernie tolerantly trying to sleep through it, only rarely escaping underneath our bed for some solace. So here's a thank you to Ernie for the countless hours of little people entertainment he provides. By the way, that picture was taken at 7:30 this morning. Yes, we were already into the ride-on toys that early. And, before anyone calls animal protection services, Ernie came to us from a trailor park with thirty other dogs. We are big step up from that even with the little ones, and he still sleeps in the bed with the man and I at night (even with his snoring).