07/05/2025
What a gift a dog is ❤️
One Fourth of July years ago we had little girls They both had blonde hair and big sparkly eyes. Our lives revolved around
Our Girls
They loved being with mommy and daddy . The years of little feet wondering into our room and shouts have “ Daddy swing me “ filled our life. We loved shopping for cute things for them and it was bliss. Our arms and hearts were so full and we needed that weight. The girls anchored us and we had so many laughs. Once my oldest threw a sock at my husband’s head when we were driving. The girls always were the highlight of everyday.
Our Girls
Children don’t stay little. Each year they became more independent and adventurous . My husband and I, are both life long dog lovers. We have always had and valued dogs. I guess we just never know how much we couldn’t live without dogs. Something shifted though as the girls got older and a new loneliness overshadowed us . We found ourselves totally free very often and then it became the norm. High school games, camps, travel, late night drama classes. We held onto those girls when we could. The youngest still in Highschool. Even she became a whirling being of new activities and pursuits not involving her super cool parents. Her peers are her world right now.
There was a void between us. We were partners in parenting Who were we now without busy days of parenting and full schedules ?
Sure we have our own hobbies. Brian plays Disk Golf and Cards with the Guys.I have Coffee with friends, hike, and obsess over animals. As a couple we felt a bit lost. Some of the hobbies we enjoyed prior to the girls being born were no longer tangible nor interesting. Age has a way of refining us and maybe for some the aging process makes decade old adventures seem like things a stranger would do. But …… I want to introduce you to :
Our Girls ~ see the photo
Meadow and Loretta❤️
Loretta Lynn is on the left and Meadow on the right. We have a beautiful Labrador boy too. The girls though are characters together. They are protective of each other, sleep together, but Meadow the oldest calls the shots. When they walk side~by~side their “ Shepherd’s Lanterns Tails” ( the trademark white tipped tail of the Border Collie) those tails are high and proud. We laugh at the wiggly butts and those tails. We both find it so so cute. Just like we loved those little blonde piggy tails. Others might not get this adoration. These are
~ Our girls
We load em up in the car and they both love walking parks. Our yellow lab spends more time with one of our girls. We jokingly call him our grandson. The doggy girls get us back to our favorite parks. Without these dogs we wouldn’t go to the park. We wouldn’t stop and smile at the little one playing.
Memories cascade over us and we relive those baby years when it was always the four of us. Now it’s four again and it feels right.
The dogs pull us into the present. With pleading eyes and “ Happy Paws” they ask to play in the creek and we can’t say “ No” they have stolen our hearts. We imagine they want ice cream or frozen yogurt and so we go. Each pup gets a little bit of vanilla yogurt or a few licks of ice cream. We laugh as it covers their muzzles or they pickup their cups with their teeth and carry them. These dogs dont replace our human children ( although they are more appreciative ) they remind us how to live and nurture.
Our girls
I could write until I died. The thing is that this is the dog. Stories like mine are the norm .The dog is a family member to millions probably billions of people They are loved by folks from every walk of life. They are : heroes , babies, siblings , work partners, and best friends. They want to be with us and they remind the lost and hurting that life is worth living.
They pull us from the trenches of despair. From the Empty Nester curled on her son’s bed smelling his pillow , to the husband without his wife who cant will himself to be social. When dreams of parenthood crash because of infertility, miscarriage, or other devastation
The dog is there. The lonely in the nursing homes wait for the dogs visit each week.
Our Dogs ….
It’s like magic how their eyes plead with us saying “ just one step at a time “ they curl against us when we can’t move. They need to go outside and they need food. We do this because we care so much for them. We push on for our dog. The process of healing is playing out. They lead us , or in my case they herd us back into the land of life.
Watching my human daughters become so independent crushed me for a bit. Now I smile and wave as they pursue their passions. The doggy girls and myself ….we got plans today. We have friends to see.
Meadow loves her Nosework classes and Loretta always wants to go sniff new places. The funniest thing and the most endearing is that my daughters are ridiculously crazy about these dogs.
Our girls
They text us pictures of toys the dogs need, they send text messages as if the dogs wrote them to us. They play with apps and turn the dogs into hilarious characters or put them in crazy backgrounds. We make up stories about them. These doggy girls are pulling us closer to our baby girls who are now young women. Even when my daughters are far or when tempers flare and the family is tense, a simple dog pic or joke is enough to extinguish the fire.
This is the healing power of the dog. Everyday these four legged miracles are : empowering, comforting, humoring, loving , caring, and saving our lives. They save our sanity and become a lifeline , A dog is often a reason for wanting to live. The dog is physically and emotionally saving lives everyday !
My girls are young woman and often I’m no longer their first choice for a friend. They are at movies, events, traveling. Rather than stifle their independence or make them feel guilty about being gone
I’m strong !! I have stuff to do. My husband and I are together. We’re in bed with a movie on. Little paws meander in and jump on the bed. Before long we are sound asleep with
Our girls.
