A Break in the Routine

Enzo’s vaccinations were due, so yesterday we drove up to Casa Grande to visit his home shelter, with a stop for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants on the way. Though he learned to get into a car for short rides last spring, he was always anxious, panting, moving around restlessly and putting his paws on the windowsill. As things have worked out, he’s only been on a few very short trips since, none at all in the past three months, so we didn’t know what to expect.

He did great! He jumped in readily, and rode remarkably calmly, looking out the windows at the traffic and scenery. It was only after about an hour, when we got off the freeway, that he began to show some anxiety, but nothing like he used to. Given that this improvement clearly wasn’t due to extensive experience in the car, I think it was his trust in and comfort with us that allowed him to be so comparatively relaxed.

Here he is on the patio at Big House, a normal dog hoping for food and drinking from the base of a flowerpot.