Annaleigh had been living in her new home for several months and was very happy, for the most part. We learned all about that here – https://www.lipera.com/dog-tale-annaleigh-finds-a-home/.
She had a lot of dog-friends including Maggie D, Bella, Luca, Jacques and others. They came to her house to play or she went to their houses. She really liked living with her new human guardians, too. They gave her the run of the house, let her go outside into the big backyard any time she wished, and Annaleigh had really yummy food that she could eat. They even had excellent treats that she could have now and then. One of Annaleigh’s favorite treats was made especially for her. It was a home-baked peanut butter cookie. Who doesn’t like peanut butter? Annaleigh loved it!
Yes, there’s no doubt about it, Annaleigh was very happy in her new home. The only thing that bothered her was that two or three times each week she had to stay home alone for short time. She was not alone for very long, maybe three or four hours at the most, but dogs do not tell time very well. Have you ever seen a dog wear a watch? I haven’t. All time in the dog world is “now” and that now can feel like it is very long. Dogs are not good with the concept of “future”, and “tomorrow” is pretty much inconceivable. Forget about the idea of “next week”. To dogs next week is just blah, blah, blah.
Annaleigh would have preferred to be with her human guardians all the time. They began to figure that out. When they came home after doing whatever it was that they were doing, Annaleigh would greet them at the door and be very excited. I believe the technical term is “going nuts”. Annaleigh would bark, that’s a dog’s equivalent to yelling, “Woo hoo! Woo hoo!” She would also jump up and down and run around inside the house. It was like a one-dog circus.
After about a year or so, Annaleigh’s guardians (who we discover are actually named Roger and Anita) decided that maybe Annaleigh needed a roommate. That sounded like a pretty good idea, to them, but Annaleigh didn’t know about their scheme. Roger and Anita did not have a way to communicate their plan to Annaleigh.
Oh, you know that they tried. More than a few time Anita asked Annaleigh, “Well, would you like another dog friend to come and live here? Would that be fun for you?”
Unfortunately, to Annaleigh that sounds a lot like, “Wappa wappa noomity papodopadddd dooogie.”
I should point out at this time that Annaleigh actually knew some words. She was a very smart dog and learned human language quickly. She had favorite words that included walk, food, dinner, treats, and ride. The trouble with complicated sentences, such as the ones that Anita used, was that there were too many new words and none of them were associated with food, walks, or rides.
That’s the way it is in the dog world.
One day Annaleigh discovered that they were all going for a ride. She put on her special harness that she always wore when taking a walk or a ride. Then she hopped into the backseat of the car. Annaleigh always rode in the back seat. A moment or two later they were doing off down the road. Roger and Anita seemed excited about this trip, so Annaleigh figured this was going to be a cool adventure.
After driving along for a while, they came to a nice place with lots of trees. They all got out of the car and right away Annaleigh started to explore the area. She sniffed around to see if she could smell some new animals and checked out the shrubs and bushes. Then there was a big surprise, another dog appeared!
Annaleigh “spoke” to this other dog and discovered that this new friend was called “Maggie” by the humans. As you may have guessed, dogs don’t really communicate by “speaking”. They chat with each other using secret dog language. Maggie was very happy to tell Annaleigh that she was being cared for by some very nice people, but that she had the impression that these people were trying to get her a forever home.
Annaleigh and Maggie walked along with their guardians through the woods. They were in a very nice park and they could check out the smells and sounds of the forest. The humans were happy that the two dogs got along very well. Annaleigh and Maggie looked a lot like each other, although Maggie was the larger of the two. Both had very similar colors and makings.
After some significant length of time the people and dogs returned to their cars. Everyone had to go home. Annaleigh was curious about this whole business. First, she went for a ride. Then she met a nice dog. After that everybody went for a walk. Now she was taking a ride again. She was wondering if she would see Maggie again.
In a few days Annaleigh’s curiosity was put to rest. She was relaxing on the sofa at her home when she heard a car pull up into the driveway. Visitors! This was a big surprise, and Annaleigh loved to have surprises like this. She barked to tell everyone in the house that people were arriving.
“Woof, bark, yip! Woof! Bark, bark!” That means, “Visitors! Car! Hey, hey! Visitors!”
Then the surprise got really good. It wasn’t just people arriving. You will never guess who jumped out of the car. It was Maggie!
It turns out that Maggie’s foster family had concluded that Annaleigh’s forever home would be perfect for Maggie. Now Maggie had a great place to live, a new friend and pal, and just about everything that a dog could want.
Over the next several days Annaleigh and Maggie got to know each other. They really liked to play inside and outside. They had breakfast and dinner together, went on walks at the same time, and even shared the same bedroom. They both got those really great home-made peanut butter treats, too.
Somebody told Annaleigh’s guardians, Anita and Roger, that having two dogs in the house was just easy as having one. That isn’t exactly true. Sometimes it is a little harder having to take care of two dogs. But what is true is that two dogs, especially ones like Annaleigh and Maggie, are twice as much fun.
And that is how Annaleigh got a roommate!