Dear Positively Pleasant,
My name is Vladimire. Yes, my parents put the extra “e” on the end to set me apart. Set me apart they did. My only friend is Spike; his picture is posted above. I am writing to get some advice on friendship and trying to stay positive.
My question is this, what do I have to do to get a friend that will accept me for who I am and also accept my fire-breathing best friend? He doesn’t mean to burn people. It’s just that he gets so super excited when he meets new people that he forgets to keep cool. Do you have any advice for me?
Sincerely, Vladimire

Dear Vladimire,
I appreciate your honesty that you have only one friend. In life, and as you get older, you will see that one good friend is better than a handful of “just okay” friends. Does Spike mind that you want to have friends? Have you tried asking him? Perhaps he does the burning thing because underneath it all he really wants to keep you for himself.
My first piece of advice would be to ask Spike if he has a problem with it or if he is open to you making friends. Work from there. He might be the one who needs the help. He is going to have to realize that you need friends too and that by burning them he is only going to eventually push you away, rather than keeping you close to the fire.
Let me know how the conversation goes.
Sincerely,
Positively Pleasant

Dear Positively Pleasant,
I did what you said and I asked Spike how he felt. At first he said he didn’t care if I had other friends then he kindof started crying and when I asked him what was wrong he admitted that he is afraid to let me have other friends because he thinks I will forget about him.
So, I tried to tell him that would never happen but he wouldn’t stop crying. What do I do now? How do I convince him that I can have friends and he will still be my best friend? He doesn’t really want to believe me.
Sincerely,
Vladimire

Dear Vladimire,
I am glad that you went right away to the point with Spike. Unfortunately, the only way that he might be able to begin to believe you is by seeing you have a new friend and realizing he is still your bestie. Since he finds it easy to burn your new friends you might have to go alone, find new friends and then introduce them once your new friendship is established. By doing this you could also explain to your new friend how Spike has some jealousy issues. Honesty is really the best policy and the only way that Spike is going to learn to trust you is by seeing that you are being honest with him.
I do hope you are able to make at least one new friend who Spike will be able to accept. Keep me posted on your progress.
Sincerely,
Positively Pleasant

A few weeks later….

Dear Positively Pleasant,
Your advice worked. I was able to find a new friend at school. His name is Salvador. He is the same height as me and he also has a dragon as a pet! When I told him about Spike he said he has exactly the same problem!!!! I can’t believe I am not the only one with a jealous dragon!
Spike has come to see that even when I am out playing with Salvador, I still come home and want to play with him. I asked Spike if he wants to meet Salvador’s dragon but he said he is a little nervous around new dragons. I told him it isn’t a rush, we could take it one day at a time.
For right now he seems to like Salvador and hasn’t tried to burn him even once!
Spike and I are also getting along better.
Thank you so much for your advice!
Sincerely,
Vladimire