Pooch sitting at the Linn-Gust house

I am in Los Angeles, on my way back to Albuquerque after spending last night here in Santa Monica to attend a memorial service for Ed Shneidman, founder of suicidology, at UCLA. My friend Virginia was kind enough to watch the crew for me as Joe is out of town as well. She came over two days before I left and the dogs were her best friends while we sat at the edge of the pool. Chaco licked her face (which he hardly does for anyone) and Daisy and Hattie tried to play on top of her (or Hattie tried to use Virginia to block Daisy) and Nestle was, well, simply Nestle. The morning I left, Chaco's look said it all. He allowed me to pet him and didn't want me to stop. My first dog report came last night. Chaco had barked and growled and then went away (typical for him when someone new is watching him), Nestle went for the pool, Hattie didn't eat, but Daisy allowed Virginia to brush her (which she doesn't do for me). The second report came a few hours ago. Daisy and Hattie had once again tried to play when Virginia was sitting on the couch by the tv. She wanted to know how I deal with the commotion. Honestly? It doesn't bother me. I'm not exactly sure why but I was a high school teacher at one time and I know how to shut the crew up pretty fast and send them hiding in corners. And they are loud at certain times of day, first thing in the morning until everyone has been run and eaten, about midday, then around 4:00 pm. We have a routine. The rest of the time, they mostly keep to themselves so I can work. But I realize that's our routine and when Mom's away....