Our first neighbors

I am in the kitchen doing dishes at the sink. Bucky starts barking. I look over. His head is turned to the interior garage door. I peak around the corner to see what he is barking at, a little concerned it might be a mouse . A big beautiful brown boxer is standing there with a miniature toy poodle. The boxer is wearing a diaper. Their tails are wagging. As soon as they see me, that seems to give them permission to enter the house. They wander into the kitchen and sniff tails with Bucky, whose tail is hesitantly wagging.

I am not about to upset that boxer by throwing everyone out right away. I want to make sure everyone stays on friendly terms. Tom had a boxer once. He tells the story of how she got mad at a neighbor golden retriever while he was at work. The two dogs fought to exhaustion and an expensive vet bill.

Once sniffing is over tails wag heavily. I shoo them all outside, where I start pulling weeds while supervising the friendly visit. They run around peeing on the bushes, marking their territories. After a few minutes a voice calls out and the two visiting dogs romp home across the street.

The next day, I am out gardening with Bucky in the front yard. I look up to see my visitors from the day before, the boxer and the miniature poodle, returning with another friend, a Chinese pug. The boxer no longer has her diaper on. Again, there is the doggy meet and greet. I am glad Bucky is such a cute Cavalier. He is hanging with a pedigreed crowd. I watch the other dogs leave, the three neighbor dogs continue to trot down the street to check out the rest of the neighborhood. I make Bucky come inside with me.