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dogs are the same. It’s Dave who insists on the family dogs being walked every day, and if it looks like it’s not going to happen because of torrential rain, he will become almost as edgy as Sophie. “The dogs can’t be happy; they need their walk,” he’ll mutter.
    While Bridget was away, Dave fed and chatted to Sophie. It was a crucial time in her life, as she went from sleepy puppy to confident dog. He threw her tennis balls across the swimming pool that she’d catch in her mouth, drop in the water, then nudge across forDave to fetch out. He whipped the garden hose around so that Sophie could chase it, snapping her jaws for what seemed like hours in an attempt to catch the water. He took her in the car down to the butcher just as Bridget had and she sat in the passenger seat, ears pricked, looking back and forth between the road ahead and Dave. And the two of them went on endless weekend trips to the beach. Sophie was a dog who really loved the sea. Bridget had reported this to the rest of the family but now Dave saw it for himself. Sophie would stand up in the back seat of the car and rush to put her head out of the window as they arrived at the coast. She seemed to be trying to inhale the sea air, sniffing and barking, her face a pure picture of joy. Once Dave let her off the lead away from people, she’d be off, heading straight for the water.
    After Germany, Bridget and Sophie were still good buddies. Sophie would still bound towards Bridget as she came through the front gate in the red Honda, and sit on the bench loyally as Bridget scored points for her basketball team. But when Bridget returned, a few pounds skinnier and full of energy to exert on her cherished pup, Sophie wasn’t the desperate, attention-starved pet Bridget sort of hoped for. She had been fed from another hand and seemed to know that, long-term, it was Dave, not Bridget, who was going to drop her pieces of steak or fish from the barbecue as she sat beside him devotedly. It was as if Sophie had figured out that Bridget would come and go, but Dave was there for the long haul.
    Sophie now had not one but two of her beloveds wrestling for her attention. Perhaps Sophie knew what she was doing: doubling up on love, as Dave and Bridget quietly vied for the status of favorite.
    The two of them would take her down to one of Mackay’s quieter beaches and training would be on for daughter and pup. Dave would hold Sophie, her legs twitching as she tried to wriggle free, while Bridget sprinted up the beach. Sophie would whimper and twist and let out a few high-pitched barks before Dave would let her go. From one best friend to another she’d run, tongue out, galloping, gleeful and fast. She’d catch up to Bridget and run around in front of her, forcing Bridget to skid to a stop. Sophie made it clear that she knew the game, and in fact, she was one step ahead. The dog seemed to be herding Bridget the way she would have done cattle or sheep on a farm. There was none of the nipping or biting of ankles that cattle dogs are bred to use to chastise their charges, though. Sophie was in her element and made sure to share it with her family. She’d look back and forth to Dave and Bridget as they took mini breaks mid-game, as if to say,
isn’t this amazing?
her tail whipping with joy. Father and daughter egged her on in pure admiration. “Go, Tuck,” Dave would call out as he released Sophie from his hold. And Bridget would run down to the shore with Sophie following her into the water for a cool-off.
    Then the game would start again. Bridget would tell the dog to “stay,” and Sophie’d look at Dave, breathingheavily, as if to say,
I have to wait?
Dave would hold her as Bridget sprinted back down the beach. Sophie would be twitching, waiting for either one of them to give her the go-ahead. “Sophie come,” Bridget would say, and Sophie would take off like a child at a school athletics