Making New Friends

My first swim in Lake Michigan with Stella.

Mom could tell right away I loved other dogs and that I was very outgoing and friendly. Because of this she made a big effort to make sure that I was well "socialized" or got along with other dogs. She wanted more than anything for me to have a good time with other dogs, to not be fearful or aggressive. Whenever we went for walks and would see other dogs we always tried to stop and say hello. Some dog owners just walk the other way when they see another dog coming, but others were always willing to stop, especially when they saw I was a puppy. So there would be lots of sniffing and tail wagging. My favorite thing to do when I meet a dog is immediately roll over on my back. Mom knows that this is submissive behavior and is proud of me when I do this.

Afternoons in the Autumn is our favorite time to take a walk to the park. Maybe this is because I was adopted in September. We try to get to the park before school lets out and it gets crowded with kids and after school activities. That's when I met Pagma my first real friend. Pagma is part Poodle and Lhasa Apso, her mom is Polish and very glamorous. She would let her run all over the park without a leash. Mom was very shocked about this but she finally would let go of my leash, but keeping it on to catch me, to let us run around and play together. We didn't see each other much over the Winter, but no matter how long it had been since we last saw each other, we never forgot. When we reunited we instantly knew in our doggie way who we were and we would pick right back up running and playing again.

Unfortunately we don't see Pagma and her mom much anymore.  Schedules change and the last time we saw Pagma her mom mentioned that she didn't believe in giving Pagma her rabies shot. This is due to her being in homeopathic medicine. Which meant no tags, no license. This really shocked mom, rabid bats were found just a few blocks from the park. Mom thought that if we ever saw Pagma and her mom again, she would have to say that I wasn't allowed to play with her anymore without her shots. But luckily this hasn't happened because mom knows she would be too chicken to say anything.

My short-legged friends Marlena and Muffin.

"Sharing" a ball with Bea while Marlena officiates.

I wish I had pictures of Pagma to share but mom didn't have her iPhone then to get pictures. I'll be blogging a lot about all of my friends from the park and will have lots of fun photos and videos to show in upcoming posts. Love, Dolly