Peaches and Bubba are getting along much better now. He's far more tolerant of her than he was at first, and her presence has actually sparked up his life quite a bit, which I'm glad of. I was concerned at first that he might have been happier as an only dog, but I think he's glad to have a roommate, especially when we have to leave the house. He gnaws on rawhide chewies with great enthusiasm now, whereas he never paid them any mind before. This behavior is probably mostly competitive in nature, but he really does seem much more lively than in the months after Daisy died. He just lay around all the time before looking really bored and dejected, but now he comes out front in the garden with Peaches and me. He didn't even do that very much when Daisy was alive, mostly because she always bullied him out of his spot. He was afraid of her, I think, but he's on more even ground with this dog, who seems to adore him and craves his attention. She's fortunately undaunted by his occasional grumpiness. This morning when we got ready for walkies, she ran up to him and gave him kisses on his nose and batted at his face, which he amazingly didn't mind. Two weeks ago he sure would have. I need to keep the camera at the ready more than I have been in order to catch some of these moments.

She is still adjusting to her new life, though. Last week when we had a new leather (and slobberproof) couch delivered, I put both dogs in the back room while the men made the delivery because I worried she might slip out an open door. After they left, I let the dogs out of the room. When Peaches caught their scent she completely freaked. She raced out the dog door and into the back yard and refused to come back inside. She did it again yesterday when a neighbor came over. Someone strange had been here, and she knew it. I interpreted her behavior to mean one of two things: Either she feared someone had come to take her away (as probably happened in her previous homes) or she had some kind of flashback to when people came to take her puppies away from her. She's had at least one litter, I know. And I also know she was reliving some trauma from her past. Sadly, most people underestimate how sensitive these and other living creatures are. If they understood, perhaps they wouldn't do the terrible things they do to them.

I also know that Peaches lived with children before. She seems to love them and goes all waggy whenever she spots kids. Today we were walking around the block when we encountered three little girls. Peaches ran right up to them, which she does not do with strange adults. She's very fearful of all adults she doesn't know. Unlike our Daisy, who was fearful of children, Peaches wanted to make friends with the girls, so we let her. It was nice to feel confident again that my dog would not snap at a child (or anyone else). As we walked away, she stopped and looked back longingly at the girls. It made me feel very sad that she had to give up her former life and that we have no children for her to play with and keep her entertained. I'm sure she gets a bit bored around here sometimes, especially with me typing away a lot of the time. Indeed, she would probably have been happier in a home with children, but apparently the home with children did not want her. As I said to her, a home without children in it is better than no home. I'm certain that she agrees.