Yesterday, Sunday Feb. 15th, two tripawds–Buddy & Phoenix–met for the first time in Humboldt County, Calif. Buddy, a 7-yr.-old male lab who was adopted two years ago, lives with another dog, four cats and their three people in Arcata. Phoenix, a 6-yr.-old female pitbull who was adopted two months ago, lives with Chloe (her adopted beagle sister) and their two people in Eureka. The three dogs met at Samoa Beach on the peninsula near Eureka on a glorious sunny and warm (70 degrees) day. The 3 dogs sniffed (of course), hit it off & chased each other & enjoyed the beach for almost two hours. Buddy–who likes to fetch sticks in a nearby river–dipped his three legs in the low tide near the shoreline, while Phoenix rolled in the sand several times to scratch her back. Chloe, due to her beagle nose & status, acted as the group’s ambassador/scout, greeting other people to see if they had any snacks. Because the weather was so great, and it was the President’s Day weekend, there were more dogs with their people (e.g., kids building sandcastles, folks collecting rocks/shells) than usual, but there was still plenty of wide-open space and room to roam. Later, Buddy, Phoenix & Chloe had their own version of a “tailgate party,” sharing space, bowls of water and dog biscuits in the shaded canopy of an owner’s pickup. I predict these three dogs will get together again.