Best Buddies at KAW Meet for a Playdate in Maryland
By Kay Ward

Bruce and Jessy formed a friendship at KAW as they were healing from painful injuries. We had no idea that Bruce had bonded with another dog while at KAW. What a nice surprise to hear that Bruce’s best buddy at KAW had previously been adopted by a family that lived only 60 miles from us. Jessy was usually away with their daughter at college but was home for winter break so the planning began on getting these two playmates together. Our drive to Jessy’s house was full of excitement for what we hoped would be such a great surprise for Bruce. We got Bruce out of the car and he immediately began smelling the grass with a higher level of excitement than on our neighborhood walks. There’s no way of knowing, but he certainly acted like he knew he was about to see his buddy! We got to the front door and he was greeted by his favorite foster mom, Irene! She definitely didn’t want to miss out on the Bruce/ Jessy reunion so she joined us for the gathering. Bruce was ecstatic to see Irene…he absolutely loves her! Jessy was playing in the backyard so after Bruce finished his wigglebutts at seeing Irene we let him outside. It took a few minutes for Bruce and Jessy to connect the dots as to what was going on and then they danced around each other, sniffing, vocalizing, and what we can only assume must have been going on in their minds “whoa, my buddy from KAW!” While the adults talked, Bruce and Jessy ran, jumped, explored, and enjoyed being a duo again. Our departure for home was eased with the “let’s do this again” comment from Jessy’s family. We absolutely look forward to getting Bruce and Jessy together again for another playdate!!