Speaking of Accessories

The Dog Whisperer and Friends

Hardy wouldn’t have enjoyed riding in the Hybrid. In my gas guzzling, outdated means of transportation SUV, and the car I owned before it, he had a cute habit of putting his feet on the center armrest that is situated between the driver and passenger seats. Once he secured good balance, he would place his muzzle on my shoulder, as I drove us from point A to point B. He didn’t do it the whole time, and I’m not exactly certain what it meant, but I had a few ideas. It was a charming behavior, his head resting softly and quietly on my shoulder, and it remains one of my fondest memories of him, if not the fondest.

The Hybrid doesn’t have the center armrest for doggie paw stabilization, and I’m thinking I need to change that. That head resting behavior could possibly be something I can train Roxie to do. She seems to be at ease in a way she wasn't before. Maybe it's time to teach her something new. Last night while taking Roxie and Chico for an evening stroll down to the park with my daughter and her BF, I realized how happy Roxie has become. She really seemed to take pleasure in this particular walk, as she frolicked happily, chasing and yapping after my daughter’s best friend.

Roxie has taken quite a fancy to this woman – we call her the dog whisperer because she has a quiet way with the dogs, but it’s really Roxie with which she seems to have had the most profound influence. It’s been almost a year after her adoption, and the relationship between these two kind souls has truly become extraordinary. There is no doubt in my mind that if anything happened to me, after my husband, my daughter’s friend would be the best owner for Roxie.

It was the first time I gave up the “reins” to another person without regret. So impressed was I in this newly blossoming relationship between my fated companion and the dog whisperer that I let her take possession of Roxie’s lead on the way back. It looked like Roxie smiled the whole way home, as she pranced obediently, and uncharacteristically, with a little slack on the leash the whole time. It made me think: my little girl has come a long way in about a year. What's more, the huge cavity in my heart is slowly filling up with fond memories that only time can deliver.