By Suzanne Sparrow Watson
Earlier this month I packed up Dooley and seemingly half of my worldly belongings and headed out to Balboa Island. Balboa is adjacent to Newport Beach and is a cute touristy town full of cute shops and restaurants. It seemed like the perfect retreat from the endless hot days of Scottsdale. Dooley had never been on a car ride longer than an hour, so the success of this trip was a crap shoot from the beginning. Plus, I soon discovered that my new car model is smaller than my old model. Or maybe it was that between Dooley’s crate, car seat, stroller, food, grooming equipment, toys and training tools it just seemed smaller. In any event, my friend Pat and I each rented homes on Balboa for the month of September and early on the morning of the 1st, we set out on our grand adventure. To my surprise, Dooley is a great long-distance traveler, and my rental house was perfect – recently updated, freshly painted, and right along the main street with a front patio that was ideal for Dooley and me to watch the world go by.
To be honest, in the weeks before the trip I felt I needed a break from Dooley. He is a very high-energy puppy, and I am, well, more of a sloth. But for various reasons I couldn’t find anyone who could take him, but to my surprise, Dooley’s presence turned out to be a blessing. On the second day of vacation, one of the people who walked by our patio was an elderly man, wearing a Panama hat and walking a golden retriever. He stopped when he saw Dooley, reminiscing about the two Cavaliers that he’s owned. I noticed that he had a patch on his shirt that indicated he was a dog trainer. Long story short, his name was Ed and had been training dogs for 30 years. I hired him on the spot and boy, was he the right guy. His methods were strict and no-nonsense. Apparently, I was failing at being the “alpha” in my relationship with Dooley, but Ed straightened me out with all the subtlety of a drill sergeant. Sure enough, within a couple of days Dooley was already walking better on a leash. Ed came over a few times, and I wanted to bring him home, but we agreed to work remotely on additional behavior issues – mostly mine.
Every afternoon Dooley scratched at the front door, just itching to get to the patio. He would sit up on the sofa, head resting on the porch railing, and greet everyone who walked by. Who could resist those puppy dog eyes? Apparently no one. Almost every person who passed by smiled or stopped to give him a pat and or ask me about him. I ended up talking with several people multiple times. Without exaggeration, over the three weeks I was there I probably met more than 300 people. Pat jokingly began referring to Dooley as “the mayor”, as he greeted his “constituents” every afternoon. Our multiple walks each day brought other opportunities to meet and greet, including a chance encounter with Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He was walking with two other people a few yards ahead of me and at 7’2″, he’s rather hard to miss. He stopped to sit on a bench, and he smiled at Dooley as we passed by. When I turned and headed home, we passed him again and he said, “That dog isn’t going to attack me, is he?” We both laughed. He clearly has some mobility issues, and it made me happy that Dooley brought him a light moment. I finally realized that without Dooley, I never would have met so many people, had so many engaging conversations, or walked the 13,000 steps he led me on every day. He is my calling card to meeting strangers and making friends. From now on, he will accompany on all of my car trips.
The biggest blessing of this trip was being able to spend time with family. I got to watch college football with Bob and Linda, had a wonderful afternoon and dinner on Balboa at the Village Inn with them, their daughter Dana, and their two grandchildren, Addison and Mack. And on my last night, they hosted a dinner with all three of their children and five grandchildren. We hadn’t been together in a long time, and it was the perfect way to end my trip.
As lovely as it was to be in cooler climes, I learned that a month is way too long for me to be away from home, especially with a puppy. Ed acknowledged that Dooley is a very smart, but very energetic puppy, who would better adhere to training at home. Plus, after three weeks I was ready to sleep in my own bed and have my own “stuff” at my disposal. I admit it, I’m a homebody. As it turned out, Dooley picked up a parasite at the end of our stay and luckily, I was home and near our vet before it hit him full force. So, leaving early was meant to be. But I’m already perusing my options for a vacation home next summer. My chief requirement? It has to have a spot for “the mayor” to meet and greet his constituents.