Dog Days

There has been much written in this blog about our three girls, but I have been neglect in highlighting our first Girl.  Johnathan and I joked that we should make sure we could take care of a living creature before we had children so after searching we ended up at an adoption fair at our local Pet Smart.  We  thought we were being clever by going down the line and obedience testing each dog, but this Girl won our heart.   Who knew what we had in store. 

I wish she could tell us what happened to her in the two years before she found us.  She was tied overnight to the shelter fence, her paws were worn and she had lost a lot of hair.  When we brought her home she was scared to walk on anything but carpet in the house but the most noticeable thing was the licking.  She licked everything, especially us.  All. The. Time.  We nicknamed her Lilly the Licker.  I think now she was just so desperate to share her abundant love.

If preparing us for children was her purpose she has served us well.  She was two, but still very much a puppy and I can't begin to list the things she destroyed, among them a full couch, our mortgage application for our first home, floor molding and in "indestructible" crate (we got our money back).

When given the opportunity to escape, she seized the freedom and put our patience to the test.  She never ran away, just around the house for ever.  Even the dog catcher could not catch her, much to his dismay.

She has accepted three babies into her home as if they were her own.  

Always near, always watching, 

always patient and quick to accept the mutual exchange of crumbs from the highchair for free climbing time.

At fourteen we see small signs of her age, the walks are shorter, the naps longer but she has not wavered in her devotion.

Every night she follows us from room to room as we read and pray with each girl.  When I go to bed I pull each girls door almost closed by each morning they are all open  from mother dog making her rounds in the middle of the night.  She usually sleeps in the hall between all three rooms.  

I hope she has forgotten those first two years without us. 

I can't imagine two seconds without her.   

Even at 14 (98 in her years) I know she has many walks  left in her.  She still has these girls to raise.  There are still multiple curmbs falling from the table, plenty of nights to watch over and still many kisses to share.  

Not Man's Best Friend. 

A Girls Best Friend.