Cat Intro

I brought him into the yard at night. he sniffed around. The cats, hearing us leave, the clackclackclack of his paws, come down to the bottom of the stairs. Perfectly lit inside, Baxter spots them from the top of the stairs. he walks down carefully, still learning steps, then walks carefully to the glass. He stands there, seeming to know that too much fuss scares them off. For a long time he stares, even whining  alittle from the tension and the need to be friends. once when he pads back to me, as if to say, look! dogs! i want to play. maxine comes right to the window and sits. he bounds to her and she retreats, not far, and he can't figure out where but then does and manages to stand there for a long time just llooking. the cats seem fine, loving his agony, maybe talking to him, i couldn't say. after about half an hour it's just too cold so i leash him take his to the door, knock on the glass to warn the cats, who don't move and open the door. Baxter seems to know that if he wants to make friends he has to cool it - something the dog park may have taught him and so we stand there for awhile and he doesn't scrabble his paws just leans forward and the cats stay still and i slacken the leash and he still doesn't move. we take a few steps forward, he still slow, but shaking with the excitement, the effort of it, and this goes on for fifteen minutes, stopping, looking, walking forward, he pulling then not pulling, sniffing, so eager. the cats kind of enjoying it, maxine on the stairs mia farther back. he shakes with anticipation, oh, he is trying, hihihihihi, his body is saying, tail as high as a flag, ears forward. step by step even past maxine (to her disappointment i think) he sees her but he can't concentrate on two so he picks mia, usually teh scaredy cat, now coming forward in slow motion then stopping, slow motion back, baxter shaking shaking shaking, until about five feet apart mia loses her nerve and disappears down the stair and baxter suddenly cant' stand it and all his composure is gone and scrabblescrabble scrabblemaddash but the cat is gone. The excitement for all of them!

the next mornign all baxter's composure is gone. he rushes from the room (leashed) and maxine bolts.