How Kaimin got her groove back

We brought home a new dog about a month ago. We missed having two dogs after our beloved Ozark died last year, and we wanted company for Kaimin, our 8-year-old English setter/Rhodesian ridgeback mix.

Kaimin missed Ozark, too. She had been mopey and lonely, acting and looking old. Her muzzle was turning gray. She watched squirrels in the back yard but no longer leapt off the steps to chase them. She showed no interest in dog toys or ropes or even the backyard branches she used to gnaw on. She didn’t like to be outside unless we were.

At a local shelter, we found Mimsy: about a year old, give or take. She is an enthusiastic dog who galumphs around the house making friends with the furniture and tearing apart Kong ball toys and stuffed hippopotamuses and frogs. Kaimin had no idea what to make of her new partner. She spent the first week watching, asserting her alpha-dog-ness, and asking us if we really intended to keep this white streak of energy.

Now, however, Kaimin has her groove back. She hogs the hippo from Mimsy, tricks her into a tug-of-war, chases her around the yard. They spend hours in dog play that involves sniffing and mouthing and nipping at each other’s legs. And we spend hours watching them, delighted and reminded.