When we first got Joey, his relationship with the Boy was something he craved more than a relationship with me; his previous owner had been a man and I don't believe the women in the household held Joey with much regards at the time.
So we worked on our relationship, but it had a rocky start and I got my share of nips - in fact, to this day, I refuse to let him on my shoulder as the very few times he was ever granted that privilege ended up with me having a hurt and maybe even bleeding ear.
Eventually though, he started leaving the Boy's side to share his time a bit more equally between him and I; I definitively became the chosen purveyor of head scratches. I had also by that time gotten pretty good at reading his body language, specially his eyes which are quite expressive, and have managed to avoid getting a serious bite for quite some time now.
As of late, I have noticed another change in Joey; he more and more chooses to be in my company (often sitting on the computer desk right in front of me (a prime spot for head scratching it seems) and, as a result, spends less time with the Boy. It seems that another shift in his affection has happened - but it took us a little over 4 years to get to this point and to be honest, it's not like I was trying to "steal" him away from the Boy - it's just something that happened. But I am happy that our relationship has taken this tangent and that he's willing to trust me so.
Patience, it seems, has payed off.
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