Hey hey, that worked!
I think the confusion was that I was using fast travel and even when I entered the mine the last time I exited it I used fast travel to do so I think which leads to entering it "normally" putting you on the last screen you were on which in that area which was the final section of the P1 mine(the door), so then I would just go through mine P2 to the next Thistle Grove area not realizing the dog was in the early mine sections. The triggers for fighting/completing seem to work fine too for me unlike the issue I saw reported on older versions.
Appreciate the replies. Well done so far with your game, it looks great even as early as it is! Appreciated the memey aspects too.