Eventually children grow old enough to choose their own friends. And, inevitably, parents will frown upon their choice of friends. Perhaps a new friend barks too much. Maybe it it messy and sometimes pisses on the tires of your car. Occasionally it might chase the younger sibling, Mr. Man. Whatever the scenario, you, as the responsible parent, suck in a deep breath and know that hopefully the child will get to know the snot-nosed heathen for what it is and learn to run hide when the friend comes a-calling.
I have recently found myself in such a situation. Harley has a new friend named Koko and Koko is a crack addict. In fact, Koko not only free-bases cocaine, but she also pimps meth. I know because of the way Koko behaves. She has no breaks. Koko runs full speed overtop everything. I feel sorry for Koko, but she is beyond my help and I pray that Harley doesn't fall too deeply under her influence. It is not looking good folks. I've seen Koko take down 5 garbage pails in one swoop. She doesn't eat the trash (she is a crackdog after-all) but she single-handedly strews the mess piece by piece throughout our yard. And Harley is mesmerized by Koko's brashness. Someimes they go doggie bar-hopping together. I've found them down the road, snooping in other people's trash. It is downright embarrassing to admit this....
For the time being, we have taken drastic measures with Harley to make sure that she doesn't become a harlot looking for her next hit of meth. We've grounded her. We've tied her upon a lead and have locked her in the garage when we must leave. I think Harley is going through withdrawals. In the middle of the night for no reason at all, she starts barking and throws herself upon the door. Oh wait, that isn't Harley, that is Koko, the crack addict dog trying to bust into our house and see if Harley can sneak out to play....
