I was caught cheating the other day.

I have 2 very good dog friends, Parsley and Eddie. They are the current children of our friend MW. We have babysat these 2, walked them, played with and yelled at them, enjoying them fully.

Howard and Shelley are dog people. We love them and have had them for 55+ years. However, we now really love everyone else owning them, paying for them, caring about them, we just want to play with them and visit them.

Here in Florida, we live in an over 55, (no laughing). In these planned communities, (so happily sad), all dogs are on a leash and there is a dog park. It’s like a park for kids or a bar for young adults, or for some dogs, its like a senior center, where they gather to simply watch the younger ones play and pontificate.

The upside to all of that is you don’t need a dog, everyone else has one. You get to play, pat and then ditch. Back to Parsley and Eddie for a minute, since we know these 2 intimately, Eddie has a crush on me and Parsley is the first little dog i have ever liked, I have not let them in on my little secret. His name is Blaze, he’s Border Collie with bright eyes, a beautiful coat and he’s young, spry and can’t wait for some attention.

Shelley and I first eyed him at the dog park, then when he was out for a walk, then I began to watch for him while at PB or when I would get the mail. Last week, I spied Blaze across the street from our house and realized he lived right down the street. Oh my.

Shelley and I had to have a serious conversation as to what we would say if the owner couldn’t keep him, (because he’s a Border Collie … living in an over 55 .. and he really needs 10 acres, 5 chickens, 2 sheep and horse to manage). We would probably cave and say yes, knowing full well it would be the worst decision ever.

Our last border collie was Charlie, he was a rescue, we never should have gone through the doors at the shelter. That poor dog was a condo dog, talk about nothing to do. He was great with most people, but really hated all other dogs. He was around for some semi-transitional years at our house and helped make those transitions go pretty well.

But I digress, I was going to get the mail, it was around five and I was rounding the bend near MW, and there was Blaze. He was in his youthful glory, black coat shiny and brilliant, looking alert, looking to the left, then looking right, just wanting something to manage, after all it was a border collie. They manage things.

I yelled, is that Blaze? Then his mother turned around and said yes, and I rode my bike directly to him. We have met his mother at least three times possibly four and I have still not introduced myself. I’m far too busy playing with Blaze.
He comes right over he’s leaning into to you like a good dog does. I’m usually down on my knees just giddy with dog love. His coat is soft, he has a smile and cannot wait to do something for you.

That’s when I was caught red-handed. Parsley and Eddie came running over barking wanting to know what was going on. They didn’t get this, I could envision all that barking really saying “who the heck is that dog? And why are you paying any attention to him ? We’re not gonna take this ”

And the hardest part is all I can do is pay attention to Blaze … after a minute or 2 I look through the fence at my other two friends, wiggling and smiling, I yield and then pet them as well. The barking was loud enough that MW came out of her house and I yelled “I’ve been caught red-handed cheating on Parsley and Eddie”. I explain this is Blaze, my Border Collie friend, she acknowledges. Now it’s really uncomfortable for me, two sets of dogs, two owners and then me. It was a lot of pressure.

It’s been a couple of days since I saw Blaze, Parsley and Eddie. I thought everybody needed some space, I needed some space. This is what happens sometimes in these over 55 complexes in Florida. It sometimes gets a little too cozy. Even when it’s harmless as dogs.