Friday, August 23, 2013

Maddie the socialite

She's not all that happy, but she's coping.
I'm the same way at parties.
It was Friday evening, I managed to get my work done, so we headed over to the James River Brewery in Scottsville.   We've taken Maya a couple times but Maddie is the one who really needs the socialization at this point so she came along.  Her tail was tucked on the drive but she was up, alert, and interested in where we were going.  It was still raining but the sun came out to the west and created a nice rainbow as we entered Scottsville.

Maddie at home with Horse and Maya
That's almost a smile.
Maddie was nervous but she trusts me pretty well at this point.  We found a place in the corner, which is where I prefer to be anyway.  The crowd there is small but very friendly and several folks made repeated attempts to greet Maddie, even after I told them that she was shy and scared and wouldn't necessarily reciprocate their affections.  Women made more headway than men, as we expected, but she would at least let anyone approach her and pet her.

Mostly she settled into a position
of safety and comfort.
It was immersion therapy for the shy dog and she probably hated every minute of it, but she survived.  She had a lot of people make a lot of effort to be friendly with her.  She was exposed to a crowd of new people, noise, and music.  She saw another dog having the same experience and enjoying it.  I think that must have been good for her.  She may never be a social butterfly, but she needs to learn to accept and tolerate new people and new experiences.
Between my legs worked
well for both of us.






This is Disco, he's always there and he
really liked Maddie.
People made a lot of effort to make her
comfortable.  It's often hard to remember
that there are good people in the world.


Random acts of music at James River Brewery on a Friday evening.

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