Will you be my friend?

We have had a rough few weeks with Neal. He has had some physical symptoms which we had to seek vet care for, but nothing seems to be wrong physically. We finally ruled everything out and have attributed his problems to depression and anxiety over losing his brother and best friend, Bailey.

Those of you who know my two dogs knew that there was not much interaction between the two. Neal, with his brain disorder, got to the place where he couldn't walk much and Bailey, the toy nazi, never shared any of the toys we bought them. So there really were no activities they were able to do together. Bailey was such a loner and probably viewed Neal as a nuisance to be tolerated. Both were rescues. Bailey's first three years were tied to a dog house. Neal was in a home with another Scottie. So Neal was used to companionship and apparently Bailey was more of a companion to him than we realized. They were always together when we left to go somewhere and at night, pinned up in different ends of the x-pen inside the motorhome. . . each with his own cushion and water bowls to separate them. They lived comfortably like this since we started full-timing four years ago.

That is all changed now and we all are learning to cope. We think Neal is finally starting to heal emotionally.

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the FMCA camp in Cincinnati for two nights. Only three rigs in here and one couple has a Westie. A Westie named Bogart, or Bogie for short. They had had a Scottie as well. I went over to meet Bogie and they wanted to meet Neal so we carried him over. Bogey and Neal were an instant hit. Course, Bogie wanted to play and Neal isn't much for playing, but they certainly became acquainted with one another and Neal seemed pleased. Bogie just couldn't resist putting a paw on Neal's shoulder as if to say, "Will you be my friend." It was very cute.

Till next time. . .

Dale