It sounds crazy, but when Eula, 9, and Lilah Tobias, 7, (pictured) get home from school each day, their dog, Mabel, actually smiles. “The girls are careful to time their entering of the house so that they can both see it,” says their mom, Lisa. The family got the beagle/basset hound mix (and their cat, Chives) at the SPCA three months ago, and since then, the girls and the animals have been practically inseparable—but Mabel and Chives most of all. The two eat, sleep and play together, and when Mabel goes outside, Chives meows with separation anxiety.
And with the girls? Well, Mabel has a very special job.
“Mabel is the only one who seems to be able to happily wake Eula up in the morning,” Lisa says. “The rest of us get grumps when we try.”
