Animal Dreams

This is totally not Peanut.

Peanut seems to have a love/hate relationship with animals. Perhaps it is better deemed an attraction/profound uncertainty relationship (though that isn't quite as snappy and probably would not fit on this kid's knuckles). She seems to hear every animal in our neighborhood (of which the variety is greater than you might imagine...), and imitates them with great gusto. While in the kitchen I may hear a high-pitched "Guau! Guau!" (Spanish for Bow-wow or Ruff-ruff, or whatever the kids these days are saying). Later while we are eating comes the "Ki-ki-ri-kiiii" of the rooster next door. Birds offer the widest range of possible noises, and don't get me started on cat fights. Whenever she actually sees the animals in question she always puts out her hand to beckon them and says "Ven! Ven!" (Come here!), but if they actually do come...well, then she is not sure what to do.

Part of the problem is that her mom is not sure what to do either. I am not completely trusting of pets in the States either, but here they are less often people-oriented. Toddlers are also a perpetual challenge because you never know when that cat tail is going to look like a good pull toy, resulting in a well-deserved cat-smack that sends your animal dreams into nightmares. Luna, the dog across the street, is a good bet for a quick petting fix, but even when she comes running up to Peanut I usually have to brace myself against a wall to not get knocked over as my daughter runs headlong into my knees.

Still, the idea of animals captivates the Nutter, so we take occasional trips to the zoo, and one day went so far as to a farm with a petting zoo outside of town. There she touched a few of the animals...

 

was content to look at some of the others (while mom obviously wants to have a full on conversation with them),

It was big, but as we did not size all the other animals, I think we were going for "Pig"...

 and very willing to jump up and ride others (okay, if they were made out of rock).

Because the zoo is one of the only things to actually do in town that does not involve shopping or just randomly riding the bus, we go there fairly often. She now announces several of the animals before we get to them, and makes sure to tell them all "Chao" before we leave them. She is totally cool with her friends when they are behind glass, 

or wrapped up in someone's arms,

and evidently even when her mom let's her hang on the fence to see the anteaters before seeing the, "Please keep your kids off the fence" sign that is prominently located immediately to the right of her daughter's dangling legs.

Oops.

But get an animal that joins her on the other side of the fence, and she turns into a monkey that climbs up your legs and makes funny sounds in that hopes they will help her get off the ground faster. I am not sure what to do really, except try to make her feel as comfortable as I can and keep all animals in reach as safe as possible. So if we come to your house this fall, then let us make a deal now: you warn your beloved cat/dog/fish/lizard/wewillnotstayatyourhouseifyouhaveasnakesodon'tworryaboutit, and I will warn Peanut. We will all see what happens from there.