It’s remarkable how loving and social Charlie is. He still sleeps next to my head every night. He wags his tail when I come in the door and licks my face. He’s become less skittish as he gets older, which is the opposite of what I thought would happen, though it becomes blatantly clear that he is born wild, that he is a coyote, when he is scared. He makes the oddest noise, almost like a frog, and lays in the submissive dog pose but with bared teeth, and can snap like an alligator.

This happens rarely – when we are outside and something new or strange makes him nervous, or the few times he’s been hurt (from jumping off the bed or stepping on a cactus), and honestly, there were a couple of times I was scared that this whole endeavor was over my head.

But I’ve realized Charlie responds really well to eye contact – both for discipline and for transmitting basic info like, you’re safe, or, come inside with me right now and you’ll be safe, and now he looks to me for protection and doesn’t take his fear out on me.