Family vacation gets planned early in the year. Finding one week that we can all go to the beach house is challenging so once the week is chosen there is no excuse mighty or worthy enough to change it. Not even a move. Family vacation came exactly one week after move in. That meant that I uprooted Melvin from one home, moved him to another and then left him a week after arrival. I considered taking him with me but in the long run leaving him in his new home to continue his adjustment was going to be better for him than moving him to yet another house he had never been to.

To soften the blow our dear friend Heather came to stay with him. She has stayed with him many times before and she loves on him and lets him do whatever he likes. He loves her so much that for a week after each return Melvin will go into the guest room looking for her. I think it’s two-fold; he truly misses her and he wants me to know that I’m not the only girl in his life.

The moment I return from vacation he is extremely excited to see me, waving his tail (still blue casted) wildly and he follows me around for hours. Then comes the indifference. He puts distance between us. I call him over and he will only come if given a treat. I invite him up on the couch and he opts to lay on the floor, just out of my reach. He barks at a passerby and when I say ‘no’, he barks louder. I know the drill. It will be exactly three days until we are back to normal. In that time I’m permitted to leave for regularly scheduled activities but anything else is strictly prohibited. He will challenge boundaries (pull on the leash, take longer to sit for dinner) and will not cuddle with me. Each day he’ll close the gap an inch or so.

I’ve been back for one day. Here is my view of Melvin as I type…