Silvio's New Digs

Silvio cried when I left. I heard his whimper through the glass storm door I shut behind me as I walked out of the first military house I’ve ever been inside. In fact, I’ve never even been on the Fort Campbell Army Base before this evening, even though I only live thirty minutes away from the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division.

Silvio’s new dad, Alex, is a badass that’s going to start training with a Special Operations Army unit on post in the next few weeks. His training sounds grueling and challenging and fun as hell, like underwater helicopter rides and pulling tanks with nineteen other men.

Almost every other day I see a military helicopter, coming from Fort Campbell, flying so low above our house that it seems dangerous and odd, and when I asked Alex about it, he said its because of the nuances of current warfare, which includes terrain-following radar. It was really cool to talk to him, plus all the new information distracted me from feeling too bad when I heard Silvio cry.

Ashley, Silvio’s new mom, is in love with him, and had stocked the house with everything from an adorable new water bowl to begging strips and rawhide. She couldn’t stop gazing at him; at one point she sat next to him on the recently installed hardwood floor and kissed the top of his mopey head.

I had explained to both of them that Silvio has been known to try and bite other dogs when he greets them. One thing I had noticed recently that I don’t think I wrote about is that right before Sil dives for the nip, his teeth chatter. That’s a classic symptom of nervousness in dogs. I saw the clacking jaw in Rosie when I would make her sit before I fed her. And Jim Bob did it when he first got here, doing laps around the backyard, clacking his teeth the whole time. I really think for Silvio, the nervousness all stems from lack of socialization in his early months.

Ashley said she had had a Rottweiler with the same nipping problem. If she can handle a Rott, then she’ll have no problem with goofy Silvio. And guess what? They are keeping his name.