So after the pooping on the shoe incident, I let bygones be bygones. I buried the hatchet. I let that ship sail. Two cats in a tree is better that one in a pot. What? Yeah. Anyway I made it a point to win over the dog that so outwardly despised me. And it only took a bag of Beggin Strips, 10 cookies and a few cheese slices. Here is a photo breakdown of how I became one with the animal kingdom.

Notice the treat at the bottom of the picture? It took almost 30 minutes of pacing for Kootenee to decide that it was worth the risk to eat it. All my high pitched baby talk never did anything but cause him to cock his head right and left. The key to a dogs heart is through the stomach.

So this is how it went for an hour or so. I would drop a treat closer and he would inch cautiously, nab the cookie and bolt to the corner of the porch. He chewed while he eyeballed me, making sure I didn’t make any advancements. I did feel pretty good that he was comfortable enough to nap for a while. I stayed seated, drink a beer and texting, patiently waiting for the next opportunity of a friendly exchange. And when my attention was distracted I looked to my left to see this:

This took me by surprise to say the least. I sat there in shock that he was able to creep so close without me noticing. The worst part was the fact I had run out of treats. I sure would hate to disappoint after he gambled to come so close. So I took the opportunity and reached my hand out to pet him. AND HE ATE MY ARM!

Just kidding. No, he actually allowed me to rub behind his ears and he even put his head down on my leg as I pet him. Talk about a 180!I didn’t risk giving him a hug but I’ll take a good pet on the head. He’s a good boy.

Now there is a happy dog! Do you see the smile? Yep, we are pals and it’s a good thing too. It get’s lonely on the mountain and it nice not have a source of contention when it’s not needed. I stayed out as long as possible but here it gets cold at night and I had a baseball game calling me inside. I felt a little sad when I left him outside. I mean look at him.

Poor guy. Oh well, pretty soon his owner came home and it was his real dinner time. At times I can hear the goings on upstairs and I did feel a little guilty when Kootenee’s owner yelled, “Oh Kootenee, no!” I just hope all those treats didn’t lead to explosive diarrhea on the couch.