Child meets dog

Friendship, so important to us as humans. We sometimes forget how important "social capital" has always been in a civilized society. We communicate through our computer and leave out the social interaction that cements real friendship.
These series of pictures captured two strangers meeting for the first time. Lily, my grand daughter was playing outside my mom's house. Yuri, my mom's dog had not been allowed near Lily because my mom didn't know how she would react to little children.
This was the first time Lily and Yuri had been close. Lily was immediately attracted to Yuri. She loves dogs and her first spoken word was, "dog". Yuri was worried about being told, "No!", by me when she got near Lily. She kept an eye on me to see how I was going to react.


Sensing that Yuri was uncomfortable, Lily sat down. Yuri did the same, a non-verbal indication that neither was a danger. They watched each other, lily smiled, a human signal of friendship, and Yuri lowered her ears and wagged her tail, a dogs signal of friendship. Neither one made any attempt at touching and they remained distant from each other.
Lily made the first move at getting close to Yuri. She inched forward looking directly into Yuri's eyes. She never blinked or looked any where else. Yuri remained in the same spot, neither moving forward nor moving back.



Yuri sniffed the air in front of Lily's face. I think Lily was also using her sense of smell to get to know Yuri. Yuri would flick her tongue out but making no contact with Lily. They studied each other for a few minutes. Lily stayed almost at eye level with Yuri.





The studying continued for a few minutes. Their noses almost touching. Both showing no signs of aggression and neither trying to show dominance.




More of this continued with Lily's focus going from Yuri's eyes to Yuri's nose. So far Yuri had made no attempt to get nearer to Lily. Yuri was still very aware that I was near. She relaxed a little and allowed her hind legs to stretch out. Her body relaxed.



Yuri now comfortable with Lily and being aware that I am not going to make her move away from Lily, inches forward. She examines the drool on Lily's chin and decides not to try and lick it. I am still too close and she is not going to undo all the trust she has gained so far.



A loud car driving down the street gets their attention. Yuri's ears are starting to go back to their normal position, which is straight up, always scanning , just like her nose.
Yuri has moved in very close now. Trust had been established, and they could sit close and not have to look at each other. When there is no trust you have to keep a constant eye on the other person or animal. It is part of the survival instinct we all have.

Now they were on friendly terms. Both relaxed and comfortable with being close. This was just the beginning of what Yuri hoped would be a long friendship filled with trust and sharing.
Yes, she could almost taste all the cookies, Popsicles, candy, milk, and other goodies that Lily would be sharing in the future.
Interaction, it is the only way to establish trust and through trust we establish cooperation and through cooperation we are able to create great things and then enjoy those things with our friends, two legged or four legged.