I love my morning routine. One of the best bits about being retired is being able to ease into the day with purrs and tailwags instead of Big Ben's rude jangle. Its nice not to have to rush our first 'out' of the morning, at least when the mercury isn't minus many :)
And it still seems deliciously decadent to be able to leisurely read the news and check my mail. Do I sound like a stick in the mud? I probably am .. but I can guarantee you that everyone here on four paws appreciates that there is a measure of predictability in the day.
Three years ago this morning, I was crying into my coffee cup when I opened my mail. ARC ... along with all the other rescues ... had been looking for an adult girl dog for me.
We had come very close a couple of times. There was a lovely five year old chocolate lab with Lab Rescue ... but the evening before the home visit/ meet and greet, the foster "failed". There was another non starter who was reclaimed just in the nick of time.
No harm .. no foul .. in each case it was good for the dogs involved, eh? And even back then, I knew that 2008 wasn't going to be the year there would be No More Homeless Dogs in NS. At the time I was doing the research needed in order to build the homeless pet site, eh?
Three years ago today, there were three pics waiting for me of a starving dog. She was an adult shep hound mix and had only weighed 20 kgs when Elsie had taken her to the vets. But her eyes were still bright and alert and I could swear that she knew that life had just taken an abrupt 180 degree turn.
At the time we had no idea she would become such a beauty. In fact, her fosters asked me to wait a few days to meet her as they wanted her to have a chance to get back on her feet so that she would make a good impression.
It was weeks before she gained enough weight to be safely spayed. That weekend, my brother and my nephew picked her up in the city and brought her home to me.
To this day ... when my brother comes to visit on his Harley, Miss Ruby will run to meet him. But if he shows up on four wheels, she snubs him and keeps a gimlet eye on him for the whole visit :)
At her last vet visit, Miss Ruby weighed 86 pounds without being fat .. which really puts the whole 20 kg thing into perspective, eh? My vet calls her the Queen of Sheba ... but really she is my Queen of Hearts.
I'm a middle aged grandmother, so I have long ago lost track of how many boxes of chocolates and bouquets of roses I've received over the years. But I've always known that these are simply tokens of affection.
Real love doesn't come from a thing. It comes from the heart. I know I say it all the time on the pet blogs, but rescued pets really DO have more love than anyone can possibly imagine for the kind heart who adopts them.
To paraphrase a little thing I have on my personal website
If you want to be happy for a day, get drunk
If you want to be happy for a week, go on holiday
If you want to be happy for a month, get married
If you want to be happy for life ... Adopt a Pet
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