Sorry in advance for this being a bit long. I'm not that great of a writer.
So when I was in about second grade, a new family moved in across the street. They are avid pet owners who have several cats and a dog named Scarlet(not sure what breed, but she has medium length deep orange/red fur). Right about the same time, we got a dog and named him Rockne(yellow lab. My family are very big fans of Notre Dame).
Now Rockne is kind of an unruly dog. He is very kind to people once they get close enough and he stops barking, but is a bit too rough with other dogs. We got him from a shelter at about a year old where someone had abandoned him in a play pen overnight(very illegal). I kinda assume he probably was raised by a breeder so he may not have had the best upbringing as a puppy.
The neighbors have a daughter my age so my siblings, she, and I would often play at each other's houses. At some point, we decided to introduce Scarlet to Rockne. Understandably, this had us worried. Scarlet is a fair bit older than Rockne so we were worried he would get too rough. Much to our surprise, they had a ball. They were running all over the place, tackling and nipping at each other with vigor. You know, typical dog play. This would continue for years, with our neighbors bringing over Scarlet at least once a week.
Sadly, Scarlet eventually got too old and had a hip injury (not while playing). They decided it was too risky to let them continue to have their play dates.
The story doesn't end there though.
My neighbors are very good at keeping pets. They are all very well trained, to the point that none of them need to be locked in the house or even need a fence. We would often see their cats wandering our yard and climbing in our tree house. Now Scarlet wasn't as precocious as her feline family members and would largely stay in the house or her own yard.
However, one day, I went downstairs to see Rockne whining and pawing at the front door. This was unusual for him. When he wants to be let out, he comes and gets us then leads us to the door. I open up the inner door to see Scarlet sitting there, patiently waiting for her best friend to come out and play. I was going to keep Rockne back and take Scarlet home, but our outer door doesn't latch properly so he immediately bolted out to greet her. At first I was worried. He was still in his prime while she was aging. But instead of the usual rough housing, they just trotted around the yard with each other, seeming to simply enjoy each other's company. It was the cutest thing.
After a little while I went to go get my neighbor and we just let them play until they got tired out. From time to time, she would come over, sit by the door, and the buddies would prance around. But again, it didn't last. Scarlet got older and moved around less, so just stopped coming over entirely.
Wait, theres one more part.
Fast forward a few years, and I am going out to get the mail or doing yard work or something, and I notice my dog sitting on the hill that overlooked the neighbors house. Again, this wasn't usual behavior for him. When he was outside and not playing or chasing chipmunks, he would rest under the Rhododendrons(large tree like bushes) next to our house. I sit down next to him and see Scarlet sun bathing. Rockne is absolutely fixated on her. After a few minutes she gets up and achily moves to the door and asks to be let in. As she leaves, Rockne starts whimpering and stamping his feet on the ground. My heart just broke. All he wanted was to hang out with his best and only friend!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/auw4mt/my_dog_and_my_neighbors_dog_were_best_friends/
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