Day 3 part 2

Hi,

Well, the email I received back from my daughter was...not positive. Thus, she will probably not be speaking to me for the next year or two and I am still without a dog...which doesn't work very well for my plans. The issue now becomes getting her dog down to her so that I stop bonding with it and getting a new dog for me.

I did have a dog, not too long ago. He was, at best estimate, 18-20 years old when he died. He was with us from about the time he was between two and four years old. His name was Buddy and he was the best dog. He was a shepherd, husky, lab mix with one blue eye and one brown. His blue eye was the "watch eye." He saw into who a person was with it, I think. He was a really good friend, had both a heart of gold and the heart of a warrior. He would defend any of us to the end but was so gentle with everyone he trusted. He was also an excellent judge of character.

I really miss him.

I'd like to think that he would have loved to do this with me, but I don't think he would have. Bud was a homebody. We got him from the local pound after he had been dumped at the reservoir. People do that up here. They pick up dogs or cats for their summer vacations, decide they don't want them or have to go back to the city and dump them at the end of the summer season down at the reservoir or on the local farms. We had gotten Bud in February after he had been fending for himself since the end of summer. When we picked him up and brought him home, he expected not to be allowed in the house and it took some coaxing to get him even onto the porch. It took him several months before he even attempted to get onto the furniture. When he finally did, it was the pleasure of his life!

All that dog ever wanted was a home and people who loved him. We were lucky enough to be the ones to give that to him.

He passed this past spring and I miss him. I often think that if I ever get another dog, I want one like him. There will never be another Budman, though. He was a "once in a lifetime friend." They all are. So maybe having a bit of extra time here will allow me to get to the point where I can accept the dog ... that is still not present, for who it is. That's my hope, at least.

In the meantime, getting things in order so that I am ready for a new dog is a good thing and getting my daughter's dog down to her is the priority now, especially since "dumping season" has begun here.

We live on one of those farms where animals tend to show up at this time of year.

Happy wanderings!

The Writer...and her dog... who is definitely not yet present.