The Accomplice

One of Danyel's clients gave this to Carsten as a gift. It is a monkey backpack/harness. Basically, it is a child harness in disguise. At first, I was sort of offended... "This woman wants us to harness our child? Who does she think she is?!" But, when I loosened up about it, I did think it was kind of cute. So, I showed it to Carsten and he was eager to take it out of the box. He smiled at the monkey and investigated the whole thing for a few minutes. I put it on his back expecting him to throw a fit, but he didn't mind it. He just played as usual and got a kick out of the monkey on his back. The tail functions as the "leash" so to speak. He thinks it is funny when I pull on the "leash" and stop him in his tracks. I have to admit, it was kind of fun for me too. Hehe.

After I thought about it, I decided that this would be great in airports. In July, we are going on an Edward Jones trip to St. John, U.S.V.I with the Bubby. We have some pretty long layovers in Miami and this harness will probably be perfect for the occasion. He is actually a very good follower, hand-holder, listener, etc, so we could probably manage without it. But, I think it would make me feel a little better to have the extra security to make sure we don't lose him in the crowds. The stroller will work only briefly to confine him as he is very active and loves to be on his feet!

I have always taken a stance against harnessing kids like dogs, but I think just this one time, I can compromise my ideals.