Coda emerged from the car (after the long ferry ride) and was so nervous he was shaking. After a few minutes of catching up with Sandi, we put him down in the backyard with 2 other Shiba puppies. He continued to be nervous and stood near the fence (on the other side of which were Leia and I).
On one hand, we felt relieved. "Thank goodness" I thought..."He really does love me and think I am important"! On a typical day at home you wouldn't think the dog knew we existed unless it was play time or feeding time. On the other hand, we wanted to make sure he socialized with his siblings and cousins.
It didnt take long though for Coda to join the "Shiba pack" and before long he was running around chasing his cousins. After about an hour of talking and watching Coda play (and freezing ourselves to death in the 20 degree weather) we decided it was best for us to leave him alone for a while. We went to explore the near by cities on Whidbey Island. We felt just like true parents leaving our baby at daycare for the first time. Don't worry...we didn't cry!
It was strange and felt like a date. We drive around the town, had lunch at a quaint little Greek spot and got caught up on each other's lives again. We didn't know what we were missing until we actually got to experience life with just the two of us again. It was nice, but of course, we still talked about Coda most of the time.
When we went to pick him up we were thrilled that he remembered us! He ran right to us with a "smile" to say "hello...I missed you!" We learned a few tricks from Sandi about how to decrease his chewing and mouthing and we also learned some good socialization tips.
The best part about this little family reunion...Coda slept the entire rest of the day!!! SUCCESS!!! Now if only I could stop thinking about getting another little puppy. Don't I remember how much work one is?
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