My bond with Mama (Part 1)

Unlike Dad, who has always loved four legged people, Mama actually has always HATED or been afraid of them for her whole life until I came into play (hahahaha). I have the power of changing someone's life and ... for the better let me tell you.... OK, let me explain to what extent the fear of people like me affected my Mommy. When she was little, she lived just across the beach and she usually went there and had fun until...someone four legged and stray approached her (especially when she was eating "acaraje"* or anything really). She would be petrified, nervous, cry and ask her parents to chase them away. The repulsiveness was so intense that early in the morning when there were footprints of four legged people on the sand, she refused to step on them even though she had rubber sandals on. Whenever she saw one coming her way on a street, she would cross it to the other side. When she went to a bakery, there was always a few wandering around after food, to her terror and embarassment(people used to laugh at her fearful behavior). They seemed to be everywhere. Whenever she had to visit someone who had one, she had to ask to crate it or hide it somewhere out of her sight. That went on for 33 years ! You won't believe me, take a look at Sammie again. Now I am bigger than him, but my Mom used to be scared of him, big time! In January 2005 she stayed a week at my Grandma J's nearby Kansas City while my Dad was working in STL. She basically lived in the basement and only went up to the kitchen which was gated, to have breakfast and lunch and she had to do it quickly to avoid running into Sammie, whom to her luck, was somewhere she could not see. My Grandma J even gave her a stick so she could "defend" herself in case Sammie "attacked" her. Well, I guess she decided to give it a shot and adopt someone like me so she could overcome this problem and because Dad wanted to have one four legged so bad too. So Mama gave me to him as a Birthday present. All in the name of LOVE....

* Acaraje is a local dish from Salvador-BA, Brazil made of beans and deepfried in palm tree oil, usually cut in half and filled with "vatapa"( a yellow creamy paste made of bread or cornmeal ) and dried shrimps. Please see picture of Mama's "hamburger sandwich".