Emi

When Kai was younger, he was afraid of dogs. Particularly, Emi, my sister’s dog.

When Kai met Emi the first time, she was a very active puppy. And he was four years old and much smaller than he is now.

Emi is a border collie, and border collies love to run and chase things that run. Like little boys who are afraid of dogs. So it wasn’t a great combination.

Kai would be afraid of the dog and try to run away, which would only prompt Emi to bark and chase after him, which, in turn, only made Kai more afraid.

But a lot has changed since those first visits.

Kai is older. He is not afraid of everything as he used to be, even active dogs.

This week, my sister and brother-in-law came to visit us. And they brought Emi with them.

Kai loved playing fetch or catch with Emi.

And this boy, who I often can barely get to take a short walk with me, loved going on long walks with Emi, insisting on holding her leash (along with Mom).

Kai engaged with Emi more than he does with other children. So she was as good of a play partner for Kai as he’s ever had. In that way, she was very therapeutic for him.

And that is huge.

But what I loved most was that when he was with her, he was just a kid like any other kid.

And that was really, really nice.