A Happy Tail

Last Sunday, on a typical balmy late Spring evening in San Miguel de Allende, we walked down from the mesa where we live and stopped at our local Southeast Asian restaurant for dinner and drinks. OKO Noodle bar has outdoor seating with four tables placed apart and we grabbed the last one. Our waiter arrived and we ordered from their eclectic drink menu - a ginger margarita for me and a lychee pomegranate martini for mi esposo. Our neighbors included a table with a Mexican couple and their shaggy terrier mixed-breed doggie, two men next to them that we learned later were a cousin and a brother, and closer to us, a table with four young Anglo women. Like the French, Mexicans are quite indulgent (and affectionate) about having dogs in their dining patios and we noticed a tan, short-haired Golden Retriever mix wandering between the tables looking for scraps and an ear scratch. We had seen her in this mall before, a street dog with no collar or ID.

Sadly, SMA has an overabundance of street dogs that either grew up feral or were abandoned by their owners. They tend to fall into one of three categories: scary wild dogs that can stalk your own pooch when you are out for a walk; shy dogs that will follow but are afraid to get too close; and sweet dogs that are apparently looking for a friend. We have run into all three types but the mix wandering among the tables, who we nicknamed “Blondie”, was definitely a sweetie.

No sooner had we started noticing Blondie than one of the brothers began rubbing her tummy. Our dog, Molly will do just about anything for a tummy rub, and Blondie seemed to possess the same personality. We noticed one of the young women approach Blondie and speak fluent Spanish to the brother. It seemed she was inquiring as to her ownership. We suggested that she should adopt Blondie, and she told us that was her intention! Surprise! She had apparently just moved to a new apartment with a backyard and a balcony and was ready to adopt a stray. She had not expected to get one with dinner.

Everyone was very happy, especially Blondie, and as they paid their bill the four women and the brother brought her over to their car. You could see she liked the idea of her new partner in life. The picture below shows the brother holding Blondie as a treat is offered to help her into the automobile cargo area. What a happy tail!