In dog years, Nala is roughly the same age as Maya and these two girls could not be closer companions. I must admit that despite all the extra work required to keep this dopey canine it is worth the joy she brings to Maya and Jeanine and to a lesser extent the boys. It is not that I don’t like Nala. It is just that she has the disposition of a cat. A real cat has the advantage of weighing about as much as a soccer ball and therefore makes for a very useful training aid.