Friends & Neighbors

 

Some of you are wondering what Mary was up to during our recent trip to Missouri. You may recall, for the Thanksgiving trip, Mary spent nearly two weeks with my cousin Susan in Portland. Although Mary had a fantastic time bonding with Susan and her family, which included other dogs, Portland is nearly a three-hour drive away in good traffic. In bad traffic, it can take years. Closer accommodations were needed.

I hate asking for favors because people are too nice and will say yes to help out even if it’s a big inconvenience. I’d rather just put my need out there and hope someone volunteers. I did that very thing on the Salmon Beach Facebook page, in the guise of asking for recommendations for pet sitting. Word got around to my next-door neighbor, John, who offered to take Mary when he saw me on the stairs just after my post.

This was the best-case scenario. John has a beautiful dog named Zach, who is also some kind of poodle cross, and maybe a small variety of Burmese Mountain Dog. Zach is well-mannered, and very well walked in the big woods. And Mary seems to love John. She runs to him when she sees him, and when he was over discussing arrangements for when we would be gone, Mary stood by him and leaned on


him. I can’t say for sure that Mary likes John more than me, but I would be scared to death to have her in a position where she was allowed to choose between us. While I was gone, John sent me a picture of Mary hanging out with him on the neighborhood beach.

The only hitch was John, his Mrs., and Zach were also going on a trip, leaving a day before we got back. Luckily, I had an offer from another neighbor down the coast, who lives in a house in the 90s (ours is number 19). Her daughter watches neighbors’ animals while they are away. Joy is in high school, so she wouldn’t be home during the day, but Mary could stay at her house during the day, and she would take her out before and after school.

This part of the stay also went very well. I know this because when I went down to get Mary upon our return, she did seem politely happy to see me, but it didn’t feel authentic. Joy stepped outside as I was leaving, and as I went to walk Mary home, she went back to Joy. It took some persistent calling to convince her she needed to go home now.

I know Mary does feel Salmon Beach is home now. The “Non-Resident Dogs Prohibited” sign at the top of our stairs gave her pause initially, but she doesn’t pay it any mind at all now. When our homeowner returns from Mexico at the end of May, all three of us will be equally sad to go. 

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