For a week or so, Chico had to do a lot of not much while my siblings and I attended to some family business, and he was really quite gracious about it. When we started moving a number of boxes and small pieces of furniture to various cars for transportation, we needed the house’s luggage cart. When Chico and I went down to the lobby to get it, Chico finally got a chance to show off his agility skills. There’s a game called pony rides that we sometimes play at Julie’s; it involves the dog riding on a four wheel dolly. It pays well and Chico likes it a lot.

So, when we got the luggage cart,

Chico, much to everyone’s delight,  hopped on and rode through the lobby and all the way to the apartment.

He also got a chance to do all his tricks for the clerks at both the UPS Store and Ritz Camera. He really likes to go into stores, he walks right up to the counter and puts two paws up there to say “Hi!” to who ever is there to serve us.

We took a walk through downtown Bethesda and Chico calmly let two boys pet him. Chico can ignore the neighbors in our borrowed apartment having a little party next door and he can calm himself when the building’s front door clangs shut. This trip has provided a lot of opportunities for several different types of socialization and Chico has, for the most part, risen to the occasion.