The Power of Friendship
 Our 1-year-old dog has a favorite friend — our 10-year-old son. Each morning Chloe yowls loudly until he gets up and scratches her. She follows him everywhere and mopes until he gets home from school. Then she runs around the house excitedly waiting for him to play soccer outside. They love spending time with each other.
Our dog also has a canine friend, Trudy, who lives next door. We schedule frequent play dates for them to run and romp on the grass. When play time ends, I have to put her on a leash or she’ll follow her friend out the gate. She howls while Trudy walks next door. But her obsession to play with her dog pal doesn’t end there.
Chloe is a Basenji mix with extra bouncy paws and springy legs. Left unattended outside, she’s jumped over the 4-foot fence to visit Trudy. She’s even raced through our neighbor’s doggy door and into their house looking for her dog friend.
Nothing’s worked to stop the jumping. So my husband and son decided to build a 6-foot fence. After weeks of digging postholes, mixing concrete and pounding nails, they finally finished. On the first day that Chloe ran freely in the backyard, I watched in amazement as she jumped up, clutched the top of the new picket fence with her claws and hopped over. Of course, Trudy was happily waiting for her on the other side!
Blessings,
Mary Darr, Editor
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