It was bound to happen...

Sometime over the winter, Lobo and I were at the dog park, enjoying the solitude that comes with a cold day in the middle of the week.  Sometimes he just prefers to run and sniff without getting interrupted by all the friendly tail wags.  And I do too.

I'm not a sociable person.  I'm a dog person.  Lobo is quiet, fairly undemanding, and he doesn't seem to mind those long silences that crop up every now and again in our conversations.  He's always happy to hear about me.  I don't have to ask him questions about his job or his family and worry about making social gaffs that cross the line into the realm of 'far too personal'.  It's a perfect relationship for a shy someone who hasn't had enough practice hanging out with her own species.

This particular day, though, near the end of our walk, we ran into Murphy.  Murphy is some form of medium beige and brown terrier (50 pounds or so) who was rescued from Petfind in Montana.  He is not the tiny white shed-less poodle Kimberly dreamed of getting.  Still, she loves him to death and I could see why.

The two dogs immediately fell in love (none of that sniffing and circling that can best be likened to speed dating in the human world).  They knew what they wanted and went for it unashamedly.  While they wrestled and sprinted around the field, Kimberly and I stood rooted, shivering in the morning air, gamely trying to make the best of the social situation the dogs had forced us into.

We talked about everything (and not just the dogs - how old they are, where we rescued them, how much they've changed our lives).  It was like we'd known each other forever.  We made it back to the parking lot and said our goodbyes and I was buoyant.

Next time we ran into each other, Kimberly and Murphy were on the other side of the field and - shocking to me, to say the least - they crossed over to be with us and we continued our conversation.

There was a dry spell.  No Kimberly.  No Murphy.  And then a couple days ago I walked straight into them.  "Hello, Stranger!" she greeted me.

(Let me say that as a shy person, I'm naturally private.  Very rarely do I put myself out there.  So I'm always pleasantly surprised when people make friendly overtures toward me.  They're foreign gestures, but also quite nice to experience, so I was pleased when Kimberly seemed happy to see me.)

And I think I have made a friend.

Because of Lobo.

Good dog!