Took Pongo out to the leash section of the dog beach at Del Mar this morning. It was his first excursion there since the mauling last May. At first I was worried one of the injuries would get reinfected, then I was waiting for his strength to come back, and then I was scared that the hyper-defensiveness he’s shown to other dogs since then would be too much. But he gives me those longing looks when he knows I’m going to the beach, and I can see those longing stares as we drive past the beach, so today we went. He was cool. He was happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. He sniffed, he marked, he was suspicious of strangers but mellowly so. The aloof, reserved suspiciousness, not the run-and-hide paranoia. We had a good time. He let me watch the surfers and the volleyball players while he looked for dead things in the sand. We’ll go back soon.

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