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us.”
    â€œGood luck.” She kisses the top of his head. “Hope he behaves himself.”
    â€œLester,” I say as soon as his owner-mom is far enoughaway that I can talk to him in private, “I’m so excited to see you. We’re going to have a great summer!”
    He gives me a look as if he’s not sure he believes me.
    â€œFirst things first,” I tell him, and I look around to make sure the gate is closed. “Let’s get you free. I know leashes bug you, and you’re safe at Dog Beach.” I unclip him, and he makes a run for it.
    â€œLester!” I yell, and I instantly regret my kindness and sensitivity. He took advantage of it, and now I’m sprinting across the beach like a maniac, running after him.
    Dogs can be classic “give ’em an inch, and they’ll take a mile” creatures.
    I catch up to him and put him back on the leash, and we walk slowly back to the group.
    We can turn Lester’s summer around and make him happy again. I know it. He’s stubborn and routine-oriented, true. But we can handle that.
    I guess we all like things our own way sometimes.
    The most important thing is for me to figure out why he’s unhappy and why he wanted to run away in the first place.

I stay up late researching dog behavior online —especially that of cocker spaniels—so I can better understand Lester. Running a doggie day camp isn’t only about good times and quality supervision. It’s about taking the time to really understand the dogs. Apparently cocker spaniels are very sensitive. It’s important to pay attention to how we discipline them and how we talk to them with our hands. Maybe his owners don’t realize that something they’re doing might be causing him to act out.
    I’m exhausted the next morning and practically falling asleep on the bench while trying to set up all the different dogs’ lunches, when someone startles me.
    â€œAre you Remy?” the person asks.
    I look up, nod, and pretend to be wide awake. “Uh-huh.”
    â€œI’m Josh Gold. I hoped I’d find you here,” he says. He’snot a teenager, but he’s not an adult. Must be a college student. He’s wearing plaid shorts and an SGI SWEETS 2001 T-shirt. Clearly a longtime Seagater.
    â€œHi, Josh,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
    Maybe he’s part of the beach crew this year, making sure we’re cleaning up after the dogs, keeping the area clean?
    â€œSo, my buddies and I are part of an improv troupe,” he says. “You know what improv is?”
    Does he think I’m six years old? Of course I do.
    I glare at him. “Yeah, I know what improv is.”
    He laughs. “Okay, well, great. So my troupe and I are spending the summer on Seagate, running some kids’ acting classes and working on our skills so we can enter this national competition. We’re called the Improvimaniacs.”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    I can feel Micayla, Bennett, Claire, and Calvin staring at me from the edge of the water. It’s not every day a college kid comes to talk to me.
    â€œI was told you run a day care program for dogs?” he asks, looking a bit confused, as if it’s one of the craziest things he’s ever heard of.
    â€œYeah.” I laugh. It always feels funny when people know about us. As if we’re a real business.
    â€œWe want to get some animals involved in our routines,” he says. “We really want to step up our game. And the dogs will make everything so spontaneous.”
    â€œOkay . . .” I cover my mouth to avoid cracking up. This feels too silly to be true.
    â€œSo we wondered if we could come hang with your dogs some days and practice with them,” he tells me. “While they’re in doggie day care. It can be kind of like their theater elective?” He smiles broadly, as if he’s trying to convince me.
    â€œI’ll think about