New Found Friends

     I thought the days of accompanying a child to school for the first time and all the attending emotions were long behind me…until this morning when I took Diva to her first day at doggy day camp. On Saturday she or should I say, we, had an interview to make sure we were up to snuff. Aggressive or behaviorally challenged dogs are not good for the group dynamics and that is one reason I chose this program. I wanted to feel good about leaving her. So today when we entered it was much busier and noisier in the play area. As Diva was led toward the barking she looked at me as though she were on her way to certain annihilation.  She also managed to throw in a bit of “how dare you betray me” for good measure. Then once in there she managed to back out of her collar and retreat. Luckily she is portable and was then carried to her destination.

     I went home for a little while after that and was stunned at how empty it felt minus her living presence and personality. In the middle of the floor lay the stuffing-less hedgehog she had been tossing around this morning and even it seemed a bit sad.

     But, as might be expected, when I picked her up a few hours later and looked through the one-way window into the play area she was happy as could be, wagging her tail and enjoying her new companions. I decided to try this because she has no dog to play with now that Ziggy has died and I think it may be just the thing.  All of us need friends we can truly relate to.