There was a time in my life when I had to travel back and forth from Toronto, Canada to Mumbai, India two or three times a year for business. I had to be there for at least three to four weeks on each visit so my wife would usually accompany me. We had developed many friendships over the twelve years of working there, so it always ended up being more of a holiday than a working timetable. While traveling, Hugo would stay at his favorite place called “Dogs at Camp” which was a great home away from home for him. On some trips Hugo would spend over a month there, but he loved it as the camp had over five acres of land to run around and a man made pond for swimming activities. The staff loved him too as he would help keep the peace with all the other dogs. Every morning he would share a coffee with the head trainer then play his role out as the Sherriff. As he is a Border-Collie mix it was in his nature to keep all the other dogs in line while going on long hikes and if any of the dogs started a fight Hugo jumped in to separate them.

We missed Hugo so much when traveling that we couldn’t wait to get home and see him. The camp was an hour drive north from where we lived in Toronto and the anticipation of seeing Hugo again would mount as we turned down the last stretch of road. It was like Hugo could hear the truck from a mile away as all of the sudden he would sprint to the exit fence five minutes before we would actually arrive and stand at the top of the hill barking with excitement. Once he saw us he would run full speed down the hill and jump into the back of our truck, but this time was different…very different.

To be continued next week…