CARTHAGE, N.C. — Toby the Puppy has a new best buddy, and this one is a big’n to be sure … about 90 pounds.
We ventured to the eastern coastal states of this great country to stay a few days with my cousin, who happens to be mommy to a most adorable and beautiful German shepherd mix. His name is Vigo, who’s now 11 years of age.
My cousin, a retired Army master sergeant, acquired Vigo on one of her multiple tours in the Afghan-Iraqi war zone. Vigo belonged to a family in Afghanistan; they intended to leave him behind as they were on the move. My cousin would have none of it, telling me he was “so very adorable.” She paid the shipping fee to get him from Afghanistan to the United States.
He joined her family.
Now, she had told me Vigo is quite “territorial” and was unsure how he would react to another pooch in the house. Pfffttt! No problem, man.
Vigo greeted Toby outside when we pulled up in our truck. They sniffed each other’s private parts and, voila, they became best buds for life. I have to reckon that Vigo, having lived for a brief period of his life in the middle of a war, isn’t going to be bothered by the presence of a pooch a tenth of his size.
Toby the Puppy has spent plenty of time indoors while my cousin, her two sons, her boyfriend and his daughter and I have visited. Not a hint of trouble. No tension. No jealousy. No growling. No snapping.
Nothing!
And so … we’ll continue our visit without ever worrying about how well Toby and Vigo will get along. I am proud of my puppy — and of Vigo — to report that they are doing quite nicely.