Kona, home.

Friday was the Big Day – yes, the day Kona was coming home. Finally! I missed my pain-in-the-ass little boy, even though I knew he was having a great time at Chez Jennifer and Bo, or Bootcamp as Jennifer referred to it, what with the (relatively) tight ship they run over there. Sure, I’m the very definition of strictness here, but they go even further than me. No petite scones, for example. I know, can you imagine?

So I get there, and of course all the dogs including Kone go nuts – basically because I had a bunch of new toys for them so they immediately started pulling them out of the bag. And Kona? Forget bootcamp – he looked like he’s been at a spa for the last few weeks. Sleek, trim, bouncy, his fur with a super-glossy sheen – he even got his nails trimmed! He looks like a different dog, in a good way. Though I have to chuckle when I think of the well-meaning people who’ve asked me if I’ve gone to visit him while he’s been gone, and I’ve just looked at them incredulously. Because first he goes nuts, leaping around like a salmon swimming upstream, then whenever I head towards the front of the house where the door is, he blocks my way to make sure I won’t leave without him. And even when I go to the bathroom, he stretches along the outside of the door, to make sure this isn’t some sneaky way I’m trying to escape. Visit him? Umm, yeah. There would be a death – mine – if I even attempted to leave without him.

So now he’s home and we’re back in our usual routine – dog park, hanging out on the couch, etc. But I’m determined to keep him on the diet, so we’ve cut out any people food (except occasional fruits and vegetables, which he loves) and the marrow bones. So far he doesn’t seem to mind – but it’s early days yet…..