Almost unnoticed, a strong relationship is developing between two unlikely friends

  June 30, 2008 – We are often so anxious about our dogs that we fail to appreciate and allow for one of their most enduring traits – adaptability. I was thinking about this today when I took Rose and Lenore out to graze the sheep. Lost a bit in all of the Lenore/Brutus excitement was the deepening relationship between Rose and Lenore.
  Rose has never hung out with a dog. She barely hangs out with me, and then at a distance. Today I noticed that she not only allowed Lenore to sit by her – she usually moves away quickly when another animal approaches, or a person – but she moved to her a few times. This is not a scenario I would have imagined, even for the Love Dog.
  From crates to adapting to other dogs, to dealing with change, re-homing, even the loss of humans, dogs are profoundly adaptable. We all love to create our own myths – the one of the grieving dog, wasting away for his human is one of the most popular. Separation anxiety is another. The dog that is jealous of other dogs is yet one more. These myths are about us usually, not them.
 I can only speak for me and my dogs. When I finally succeed in falling into a snowdrift one winter, Lenore will be more than happy to go live with any  one of you reading this, so long as the gets attention, affection and food. Rose would forget me in a flash if she had a bunch of sheep out the back door, as she does here. And there are many laps Izzy would love to crawl into, many people he would love to ride around with.
 Dogs are a adaptable. They can be left alone. They can eat dry food. They can be in crates. They can go to kennels. They adapt, adjust, evolve, mostly, though surely not always. It is one of their most pronounced traits. But we have to give them the opportunity and remember their real natures.
  Six months ago, Lenore was terrified of sheep and hid in the meadow. Rose wanted nothing to do with this obnoxious little puppy. Now, barely noticed by me, a relationship has evolved. Last night, they slept right next to one another at the food of my bed, the first time Rose has ever spent the night in my bedroom.
  Dogs are adaptable. I’m still poring through the mass of e-mail about the forums – fear not, there won’t be any here – and I’m glad to be re-focused more on writing about dogs as well as life. It’s a passion almost everyone here shares. So It’s a Dog’s Life will be a frequent feature here.
  I’m write  more later about the forum outpouring. My daughter Emma arrives tonight for a visit, where she intends to work on her baseball book downstairs, while I am working on the “Soul of a Dog” book upstairs. Dogs everywhere. She’s bringing Pearl. Neat.