Rinny's Back!

     I forgot to mention that the dog we are fostering is back.  She had spent the Christmas and New Years holidays with another foster family, who also love her. 
     I picked her up at the Freedom Service Dogs kennels earlier this week.  She was so excited to see me!  You have to love someone who is bursting with joy to see you again.
     Dogs can be a pain.  They have to be walked far, even in the dark and in  blizzards and terrible cold.  They need to be entertained.  Their Vet bills can be extensive.  They make travels guilt-filled for their owners, and expensive.
     But they need to be cuddled and loved, and know that we need it, too.
     Today we took our first long walk since her return.  It was a slow one.  She had to stop to sniff out who all had been on "her" path in her absence, and leave her own markers.  She had to roll in the snow, several times, and eat snow and stop frequently just to sniff the breeze.
     Walking with a dog gives new meaning to "stopping to smell the flowers", even when there aren't any in season.  The sky is blue, the clouds are so white in contrast, the snow is beautiful with the sunshine on the hills....I may have been vaguely aware of these without Rin, but with her I really saw them.
     Having a pet is like having another family member.  You love them and worry about them and sometimes even complain about their imperfections, but you would never change them.  It will be so hard to give her up when she is finally adopted.  I had a last minute call to bring her in for an adoption visit along with a handful of other dogs up for adoption.  We didn't go.  A) It was short notice and I was busy.  B)  I couldn't let her go just yet.