baskerville hall

We are currently hosting Niles, the world's largest doof of a dog. A pitbull. I never, ever in one million years would have ever consented to inviting a dog of this breed into my house to roam about and knock things off table tops with whips of his tail while my baby plays on the floor, until I met Niles. He belongs to S (from Merced, and not to be confused with S from New Zealand), my second medical school friend (first being S-NZ, of course). In our first year at school we bonded over the fact that 1) we didn't know what the fuck we were doing and 2) in the midst of shiny happy extroverts, we hated parties, socializing and talking to people in general. I sensed this about her immediately and decided that we must be friends after one lab spent sharing self-deprecating anecdotes when we were, I think, supposed to be figuring out which end of the stethescope to stick in our ears. Afterwards, I stalked her and asked her to lunch. Almost like a date. Because even a hermit needs ONE like minded friend. S-NZ is the absolute opposite. She exudes sunny warmth, can chat up anyone and make them feel like they are the most interesting person in the world. A hermit is lucky to have one friend like her. Anyway, studying with S and S made it all bearable, that and packs and packs of sugarless gum and countless diet cokes. We chewed and sipped until our borborygmi could empty a room during an exam. During our first year of Anatomy studies when we studied at S's house Niles would sneak up on the bone box and steal away the plastic bone replicas. We turned in a box with a few gnawed edges, true. Niles is friendly and eager-to-please though. A little pushy when it comes to affection; if you're not giving him any, he'll rest his 20lb head on your lap until you pet him. And if you're sitting on the floor, he'll plop down as close to you as possible and stick his nose in your ear. He is a neutered male, which puts my mind at ease. The awful dog attacks you read about invariably feature the, ahem, intact male pitbull. I took S-Merced with me to the pound when we were looking for a pooch of our own. It's a sad fact that the majority of unwanted animals are pitbulls or mixes thereof. As we walked around the awful stinky, loud room where the dogs were housed, I kept coming back to this quiet little pit-lab mix with the brindle coat. She looked so mournful, yet wanting to lick my fingers through the chainlink. S convinced me that this was just the dog we were looking for. And, you know, she was right. Fili is the sweetest dog, so submissive you want to kick her, so enthusiastic for a walk or a pat that she nearly pees herself. Just neurotic enough to give the cat a run for the money.
So should anyone be concerned, Gabriel is not left to frolic with the hellhounds unsupervised. We are always very close at hand, especially when Niles is about. But both dogs seem respectful of the baby and sense that they are not allowed to play. Fili is determined to get in a lick or two from time to time, but you can hardly blame her for that.