My little Dotted Dog has some issues. She’s socially challenged and a little neurotic   This is why we get along so well. I understand those issues well. 

She has a history of chasing cars and being unsociable with dogs. It’s not that she’s aggressive, but since she has no social skills (and thinks she’s a human ) she’s run into some difficulties. More so typically with owners. 

This mornng she met my cousin’s dog, Star, who is 7 months old and full of energy. I was a little worried about how it would go. But Star came running at her like Dottie was the most amazing being in the world and Dottie decided to just pretend she wasn’t there. Eventually they ended up settling into an ok kind of walk with Star bouncing and Dottie with her cloak of invisibility. 

Out on the walk, Dottie saw what may have been her first gopher. I never saw it to be sure but there certainly was something of interest there. 

But the biggest deal of all was that as soon as we got back in the yard I let her off her leash. Because of the car chasing and general neurosis she’s always on a leash. But now she has more freedom. 

My moment of happiness. Freedom. 

This made me think how true this is for all of us. Dottie is not the only one to have freedom. Jacob got to walk to Tim Hortons with friends. Today the kids walked the mall by themselves. Freedoms they never had before.

 There is a huge amount of freedom that comes with the feeling of security and belonging.