Babysitting Brutus

Our good friends let us watch their dog while they are away. As you can see, Brutus lives up to his big name. He is the SWEETEST dog! Most of you know that I grew up with animals, especially since my dad is a vet. So to see that my children are FREAKED OUT around dogs, it really bothers me. So we, or should I say I, jumped at the chance to babysit Brutus. At first, Brayden was really mad. He said he hated Brutus...etc. I told him he didn't have to touch him, play with him or anything, just leave him alone. Well, about 20 minutes later, Brayden was downstairs, on the chair (heaven forbid Brutus jump on him) leaning over talking to him. Fast forward 5 minutes and Brayden is tossing him his toys. Five more minutes- Brayden is down on the floor, playing with him. Soon, I can't get Brayden to put him down or leave him alone. Brooklyn loves playing with Brutus too. He is very patient with the kids, and has ridden in the stroller, wagon, dump truck and shopping cart. We've had fun taking him for walks and just cuddling with him. Watching Brayden sit on the couch, holding him and talking to him has shown me why every kid needs a dog.
Imagine our stress, when we realized Brutus wasn't in the backyard this evening. We had company, and let him outside to get a break from the kids handling him. He must have squeezed through the fence and the house. We spent the next hour driving all over with the kids yelling out the window. Brutus was nowhere to be found. Luckily, our friends received a call from some people that had found him and had taken him home and they called us. So, Brutus is back and the kids are happy and I am sooo relieved! I hope they will let us watch him again. We promise not to let him out in the backyard by himself!!!!