Mr. Rogers Goes To Washington

We have an incredibly sad family member today. Cameron left this morning for the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip. Bailey is devastated...
Bailey is our 8 or 9 year old Golden Retriever. I say 8 or 9 because she was a rescue of a rescue so we're not completely sure of her age.
Bailey is particularly attached to Cameron for two reasons - he feeds her every morning and she sleeps with him every night. Without him she is lost.

Bailey came into our family when we needed her the most, 4 1/2 years ago. John had lost his job in November and our dog of 15 years (Chloe the Cockapoo) died in February. It wasn't a happy house.
A friend, knowing that we were a dog family, suggested someone she knew might be wanting to give away their dog. I spoke to this woman and she was more than anxious to give us "Coco" - her explanation - "She needs too much love"...
Okay - there are two things you never say to a dog lover...that is one of them. The other is "I leave my dog tied outside all the time". When I went to pick up "Coco", she was tied outside in a postage stamp size yard (of course, all houses in California have postage stamp size yards). But she's a golden - BIG dog. You need a yard, she needs to run!
Turns out, this family had only obtained her from a Golden Retriever rescue organization three months earlier, as a Christmas present for their daughter. I noticed, they weren't in a hurry to get rid of their FIVE cats.
So she became ours. Poor thing...six months after she came to us we moved her across the country to the cold Northeast! (Imagine, three boys and a retriever in a mini van driving cross country...)
While she finally adapted to the knowledge that she was ours for good, she has never adapted to winter. Her business is either done on the back deck, or in a spot we clear for her so her bottom doesn't have to touch the snow!
So - the long and short of it - we love our dog and she is sad because Mr. Rogers went to Washington. I think a couple of extra walks might do the trick (exercise = sports = subject of my blog! Didn't think I could tie it all up, huh?!)
By the way - the family who gave us Bailey ended up getting a Shih Tzu about six months after Bailey. They went camping in Big Bear one weekend and the coyotes came and ate their dog. True story...