Edited: Spend a Day With Your Dog
I lost my dog a little over a year ago, and to fill that gaping hole, I spend a lot of time with my neighbor’s six-year-old sweetheart. Lola is a high-energy yet somehow extremely lazy pitbull who loves hikes but never makes it more than a quarter mile. So whenever I’m home from school, I break into my neighbor’s house (she gave me her garage code) and take Lola out to spend a day with her.
I grab the essentials from her house: cookies, a leash, her jacket, and poop bags. Then we’re ready to get a cold brew and puppuccino from Starbucks. Lola isn’t a huge fan of cars, so she sits next to me in the passenger seat and sticks her head out the window. However, she enjoys greeting whoever is working the drive-thru that day.
After our Starbucks run, we head to the trails near our houses. We attempt to make the whole loop, but we usually need to stop for multiple breaks—as I said, she’s lazy. Once we finish our hike, I take her back to my house for some food and a nap.
Post-nap, Lola has a ton of energy. I had to buy toys to keep in my house for when she came over so that she actually had something to do. She doesn’t enjoy playing fetch, but she absolutely loves tugging on a rope.
Before I return her to her actual family, we snuggle on the couch and watch something on the TV. She’s a very clingy dog and basically sits on top of whoever is petting her.
My neighbor is always thankful when I take Lola out for a day because it means she’ll be tired for the next few days. It’s also fun for her and me because we don’t get to see each other much anymore, and I really miss having a dog. One day I’ll convince my family to get her a friend. Until then, I’ll keep spending time with Lola.