As we arrived at Dogtown HQ, I saw Kristi Littrell leaving Maggie's Mercantile, which is one of the dog buildings that has been converted into adoption offices, and I got out of the car and asked if she had time to talk about my application to adopt Dakota.  She said she did, and Kief and I followed her into Dogtown HQ. She was in the middle of something else so I helped Kief get set up to watch the Dogtown training video with the other volunteers that were new to Dogtown.

When Kristi had a free minute, we sat down and talked about my application to adopt Dakota. The biggest and most obvious problem was my cat, and the fact that Dakota had failed his cat test by attacking the carrier after the cat was put into it. I told her that I would be able to keep my cat and Dakota separated if it came down to that, and she said that was all right, but that she would hate to be responsible for one of their dogs killing my cat which is why she was leaning towards recommending another dog for me. I assured her that I understood, and that I could keep them separated so my cat would be fine.

Kristi said okay, and suggested that I take Dakota on an outing this afternoon, and a sleepover if I wanted. If I wanted? "Absolutely" I said, and we went back up to the front desk. She said she would get copies made of all Dakota's records for me, including his evaluations and initial paperwork from when he was brought to Best Friends in January. I was looking forward to reading them, as somebody else got on the radio and called up to Conrad's Corner to let them know I would be coming up to take Dakota out for a while.

I told Kief I was going to take Dakota out that afternoon and asked if he wanted to come with me, and he decided to volunteer up in the lodges instead, which was great. On one of my past visits, we were told that a lot of volunteers shy away from the lodges because they house a lot of aggressive dogs, or dogs with other issues, while the dogs at the Garden and Fairway are more... family friendly I guess, and maybe better suited for showing off for adoption. But I love the lodge dogs, and I have a great time every time I volunteer up there. I was happy that Kief was going to spend the afternoon with them, and I left Dogtown HQ and made my way up to Conrad's Corner.

Eileen was waiting for me, and I was excited. I was finally going to be able to pet Dakota and see how he was around me, and I couldn't wait. After she had put Dakota's runmate Lola Lu out into the run and put the dog door separator in place, she opened the gate and went in, and I went in behind her. Dakota was happy that people were in his room with him, and after giving me an initial couple of sniffs, he reared up and put his big paws on my chest by way of greeting. I loved it.

"That's good," Eileen said. "He doesn't greet everybody like that."

I petted his head, feeling how soft his big velvety ears were, and scratched between them. He licked my hand and dropped back down to the floor, tail wagging and eager to interact with us. I sat down and petted him, and he appeared to enjoy it quite a bit. He kept walking between the two of us, eager to get more affection and petting. He was like a typical husky, with no trace of any behavior that might warrant a red collar, which was encouraging to me. He had definitely been getting better in his time at Best Friends.

The natural amphitheater at Angel's Landing

As for me, I was just happy to finally be able to pet him, to feel his short, slightly rough outer coat, to enjoy how happy he was to have visitors. After a little while it was time for me to take him out. I asked where I should go, and Eileen suggested going up to Angel's Landing, a large natural amphitheater formed out of a cliff face. There are park benches, grass, some water running along the edges and the acoustics are really amazing. Some of the interview scenes for the Dogtown show are shot there. I thought that sounded like a good idea, so Eileen picked out a good leash, and I was off.

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“That’s good,” Eileen said. “He doesn’t greet everybody like that.”