One weekend I put on my happy hat, my tee-shirt lusuh (old) and yoga pants to visit my best friend, Mrs. Scott. I brought cakes and magazines, drove to her house, got out and was bowled over by her two dogs, Lucky and Lady.

Ever since my friend became a mother to a young infant, her dogs, which normally don't bother to look up from their spot at the back of the house, have been deprived of attention. If before they ignored a would-be interloper (yes, they didn't bark when a robber tried picking at the locks a few years back), now, anyone that visited the house was a long lost beloved friend.