The dream itself was part of a series of dreams I sort of re-initiated, as I woke up, decided it was too early to get up, and went back in. So it probably had more context than I remember, but that was quite a long time ago in dream-time.

In one, I had a dog (don't own one). White dog, large dog; loved this dog. And I was apparently visiting back in Mexico, because I'd run into an unstable old lover that I had hoped to avoid. She somehow convinced me to leave my dog with some of her friends, someone I didn't know, and I was suddenly 'carted off' to someplace else. I couldn't get a straight answer out of her about where to find them, and was on my own, kicking myself for even letting myself talk to her in the first place.

In my search for my dog, I came upon some cool people. Artist types, like myself. It didn't quite feel like San Diego, where I live. And I wasn't certain exactly where I was in my dream landscape, either. I was kind of lost and still looking for my dog, when I kind of happen into their back yard, thinking their white dog was my white dog, maybe, and the yard itself is beyond landscaped. It's more like a miniature game reserve. The first vision I see is a large mouse riding a deer, a smallish deer; young. Then I notice two small, reddish monkeys at the base of a tree to my left. And then I see another dog (not mine, darnit), somehow traveling with a cat and one of those monkeys that I saw earlier. All peaceful, calm animals, all really getting on eden-style here. If they were elephants, they could have had their tails and trunks tied and connected, and they were connected like this, somehow. Moving slowly across and then away, and somehow inviting me. In my dream, I said to myself "Ok wow, what's the meaning of a mouse on a deer and a dog, a cat, and a monkey, I wonder?".

Inside the house, I befriended the people inside. Cool people, my kind. They seemed to accept me without major misunderstanding. Which is odd for me, because usually, in real life, groups eventually reject me due to one or two people in the group who I somehow polarize through a few misunderstandings in the beginning. This wasn't happening here, so we all got on swimmingly. They were also sure that they knew the people that may have my dog, which was a plus. Before we had a chance to get to them, the dream itself slid into another, unrelated dream.

I think this dream has to do with how you feel about yourself in relation to other people, and about the conflict you have with being a creative, artistic, individualistic type and the need to be liked by other people.

You say that you don't have dogs. When I think of dogs, I think of the opposite of individualistic. I associate cats with individualistic.

On the other hand, a dog or other pet is a creature that has had its animal instincts tamed, which makes me think of you being an artist.

I think that leaving the dog and then regretting it has to do with feeling that you have to give up something of yourself.

I think that the part where you see the different animals has to do with you exploring different aspects of yourself.

The fact that the people you meet are like you tells me that this dream is king of like a mirror, with you exploring different things about yourself.

At the same time, you could be acknowledging that you don't really want to get too close to other people; you prefer your own company.

At the end of the dream, when you still have hope you may find the dog, it sounds like you are telling yourself that you don't have to "lose" anything about yourself in order to achieve what you want to achieve.