The Hachi Chronicle - Lots of Smiles

Hachi is making fantastic progress. He is more playful, more mellow, and more peaceful. I don't know exactly why this is happening now but I'll take it! I suspect that it's a combination of being on the right meds (finally!) and lots of play with me and Shyla.

One good thing is Hachi's friendship with Shyla. They play together almost every day. Here he is starting to chase her.

They often play chase the dog who has the stick. Of course, they eventually catch up to each other, and then they play some tug with the stick. They both love it so much.

And then the cycle restarts. Shyla ran off with the stick, and Hachi chased. They would keep doing this for hours if they could.

As I watch them play, I wonder if playing with another dog does similar wonderful things to a dog's state of mind as playing with a human. I'm guessing so. So I think that Hachi's playtime with Shyla is probably part of why he's doing so well.

The other huge good sign about Hachi has occurred when R blindly wanders toward Hachi's ex pen. Up until quite recently, Hachi reacted in a big way with aggressive-sounding barking that scared us all. In the past few days, R has wandered quite close to the ex pen twice, and Hachi did not react at all. He just lay on his bed peacefully as we guided R away. I was astounded to see Hachi not react.

We are in such a good phase with Hachi. His warm heart is finally shining through his fear. I am grateful beyond words.