Another symbolic dream

I think this dreams describe how I feel lately in life.

I was with a lot of friends, a huge group of friends, probably a 100 people or so. Within that large group of people, I was especially connecting with one person. For the purposes of describing this dream, I'll call that one person "My Friend." My Friend was someone who I didn't actually know in real life. Interestingly, he was a man. A made up man. But he was vivid in my dream; I could describe him in detail. Tan, dark hair, a "teddybear" but also fit build, probably of Mexican descent, and he was wearing a suit and tie.

The dream takes place on a beach. There are two long docks that extend from the sand of the beach. Behind the sand is a strip of town - restaurants, shops, hotels. And behind the strip of town there is a large parking lot, where my car is parked.

It's a beautiful day; the sun is strong; it's late afternoon. I find myself walking towards the docks with my 100s of friends. I realize that, we are all about to go somewhere by boat. I immediately become very anxious. I know this is going to be dangerous. I'm not sure what is going to happen, but have the ominous feeling that something bad is going to happen if we all stand on the dock to wait for the boat. That's too many people on the docks!

Scared, I walk with the group anyway, onto the dock. My focus shifts. I'm no longer engaging with friends, noticing the sun. I'm no longer laughing, conversing. Instead, I am just noticing my breath, my heart beat. All of my energy goes to my body and how it is experiencing this fear.

My Friend and I sit down next to each other on the dock, surrounded by all of our many friends. It doesn't take long for disaster to strike. We're all sitting on the dock and the dock starts to slowly tilt. I realize we are going to capsize, and I am terrified of the ocean!

As we are capsizing, I am scared.... of the dock coming down on top of me and making me drown; of the boat coming in to pick us up, parking over me, and making me drown; of the water having too big of a current; of me being separated from My Friend.

I escape the dock falling on top of me, and I end up in being held by My Friend in the ocean. To my delight, My Friend and I are floating and not drowning. I'm not doing anything; he is completely taking care of me - holding me up. I keep getting scared, and then realizing that I'm actually having fun, feeling calm, being held by My Friend, floating in the ocean. So I'll enjoy it for a bit... then I'll get scared again, start to panic, start to feel like I must get out of the water right away... and suddenly feel My Friend's arms around me and realize that I'm actually safe in the water. Moreover, I'm actually enjoying floating in the water with my friend. I don't know how I'm staying afloat, but I am.

At some point, I notice something swim away from me. It's a dog! The dog jumped out of my arms and started swimming away from me. I hadn't even realized that I had been holding a dog in the first place, but apparently I had been. I look at the dog swim away from me, and this is what strikes me: the dog's body. The dog looks horrible. He looks beaten up, too skinny, his fur looks tangled and matted.

The dog is swimming for a second, but soon starts to drown. I want to rescue it because I feel badly for it. Even though I hadn't realized that I was holding a dog initially, I still feel a connection to the dog - like it's my dog. My friend tries to calm me down as I wrestle to get out of his arms and go rescue this dog. He tells me to not worry about the dog, that the dog looks sick anyway. But, in my heart, I know it is my dog and I have to rescue it.

I free myself from my friend's hold, swim towards the drowning dog, scoop it up in my arms, and frantically swim to shore. I no longer care about My Friend that I'm leaving behind or all my other friends out there, happily bobbing in the ocean. With the sickly dog in my arms, I run across the sand, through the town, and to the parking lot that is behind the town. There is one car parked there - mine. I put the dog into my car passenger seat, and I hop into the driver's seat. I'm about to drive away, but suddenly I miss my friends. I feel like I have to drive away in order to save the/my dog. But I want to stay at this beach town because I want to be with my friends... I just have no idea what to do. Do I drive away to save the dog? Or do I leave the dog and go with my friend? Maybe I can leave the dog in my car, go back with my friends, and, every once in a while come to check in on my dog?

Unsure of what to do, I reluctantly step out of my car and walk towards the town. By this time, My Friend is out of the ocean and is sitting, dressed, dry, clean at a restaurant by himself. There's a chair for me. I am so relieved to see him and to see that I still have a chair. But if I go and sit in it, what will happen to the dog in the car behind the town? The dog will die if I leave it all alone... but I have this sense that I will be so sad and emotionally die if I go back with the dog and lock myself in my car with just me and the dog....

So I stand there, wondering: do I go sit in the chair with My Friend or do I run back with the dog?

Then the dream ends.