There is a scene in the play I'm in rehearsal for where the man says to his dog "You love babies, you're always licking their faces." The dog stresses that she doesn't like babies at all but their mouths taste so good. I urge you to see the play to understand this scene but the line always brings back a memory from my first baby's childhood. My little one, about one year old at the time, was playing quietly in his playpen while I fixed supper. I was cooking and he wasn't fussing so I wasn't paying really close attention, but when I looked over the center counter to check on him, he was on his hands and knees in the playpen with his face smooshed up against the mesh while our little dachshund stood on the outside licking my child's face over and over again. I immediately pulled my son back to a far corner of the playpen, washed his face thoroughly, gave him a toy to distract him, and went back to the stove. A few minutes later I looked over the counter again just in time to see my son crawling purposefully across the playpen, to the spot where the dog was patiently waiting to resume the licking. Admittedly, this was a time in his life when my son was teething and drooling a lot. Maybe this little experience felt good to both of them. I'm happy to report that neither of them suffered any negative consequences.
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