Hazel's New BFF

Shortly after losing my sweet Olivia to bone cancer in February, I threw out a request on my rescue group's Greyhound list serve: I was concerned that Hazel would be lonely without her companion. Would anyone be interested in an occasional playmate for their hound?

After a few days I got an email from Nicole. She'd also lost her greyhound to bone cancer last year and said her other dog, Nadeen, was lonely too. Let's try a play date on Tuesday, she suggested. Since Nicole worked from home and didn't live far from my office, this sounded like a good plan. 

And so, on the first Tuesday in March, I kept my fingers crossed as I dropped off Hazel, feeling much like an anxious mom taking her toddler to daycare.

"You be a good dog," I whispered in her ear. "We want them to like us!"

When I returned that afternoon to pick up my girl, Nicole told me of the striking change in Nadeen's personality upon meeting Hazel. Quiet and low-energy since losing her companion last year, the black 5-year old suddenly came to life when faced with another greyhound. She started doing zoomies in the yard, playing with her abandoned toys again, and in no time the two became inseparable, walking belly-to-belly on walks and spooning during naps.  That evening when I got home, I saw that Nicole had text me to say that after we left, Nadeen stared out the living room window with a mournful gaze and whined.

I think they liked us.

Since then, we've had a standing play date every Tuesday. When I take the freeway exit toward Nicole's neighborhood, Hazel pokes her knobby head out the window and starts howling like a canine siren, much to the amusement of fellow drivers and pedestrians.   Ten days ago, when Nicole and her family left for vacation, Nadeen was my house guest for a change, making herself comfy on my bed and awakening me each morning with gentle doggie kisses.  She reminds me a lot of my first greyhound, Elvis:  sweet, mellow, and affectionate. I'm going to miss her a lot when she goes back home. Because yeah, I do have to return her. Although unspoken, I guess that was part of our sitting arrangement. Sigh.

But at least we'll always have Tuesdays.