Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

I Smiled Because…

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I was looking through some photos the other day. I was looking for a picture to share today, a photo to spark a story, or bring a smile with a memory.

I came across this one.

I smiled because they were together for a walk.

I smiled because we were in the woods.

I smiled because Sampson was looking at me, and Delilah was looking at Dog knows what.

I smiled because they were both young and healthy.

I smiled because they bring joy and laughter into my life every day.

I smiled because I love them with all my heart.

What did you smile at your pet for this week?

The Love of a Dog

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My apologies for not getting this post up earlier. As I mentioned in Sunday’s post, my vacation was spent with my grandchildren and my great niece.

My niece flew back last night. I took her to the airport with plenty of time for her flight, just about an hour and a half. We got her checked in, and went to security. The wait time was 15 minutes. We managed to move about 20 feet, when the line stopped completely. She started getting nervous, because the line just wasn’t moving. As the hands of the clock crept closer and closer to her boarding time, with still no movement, I myself began to feel anxious.

Thankfully, once the line started moving, it went rather quickly, and we made it to her gate with time to spare.

We’d no sooner settled in, when they made the announcement the flight would be delayed, due to delay of the incoming plane.

Since my niece was an unaccompanied minor (she’s 8), the adult who is dropping her off needs to stay at the gate until the flight is in the air. This is precautionary, in case the plane needs to remain on the ground, has mechanical issues or is delayed or cancelled for any reason.

The flight finally got in the air about an hour late, and I headed home. Hubby had gotten everyone’s dinner ready, so I fed the dogs and then we ate.

Hubby doesn’t walk the dogs, and we debated walking them together, but I don’t feel like it’s fair to either one, so I decided to take them one at a time.

There was lots of lightening in the air, with some rumbles of thunder, so I knew the walk would be quick. When I’m really pressed for time, I follow the poop rule. Once they poop, it’s safe to turn around. 🙂

As we were walking into the driveway, one of the young boys from next door saw us.  Their grandmother lives next to us, and for about three or four years they lived with her. Then their Mom bought a house in town, and they moved away. While they lived next door, they developed a love affair with the dogs, specifically Sampson. Any time they see him outside, they run over to pet him.

This photo was taken almost three years ago. It is the youngest brother, just chilling on the lawn with Sampson.

It was after 8:00, and due to the thunder and lightening, it was on the darker side. The oldest boy saw us walking in the drive, and yelled “Sampson!”, then he came running. Sampson turned and got a huge smile on his face when he saw him.

He lay down in the driveway, and waited for some petting. After a few minutes of petting, the boy called to his mom to get his younger brother, and he came running as well.

We really didn’t talk much, we just sat there in the driveway, surround by the heat of summer, with thunder rumbling in our ears, lightening flashing in our eyes, sharing the love of a dog.

To Sampson On Your 14th Birthday

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Dearest Sampson,

I’ve been thinking about this post for weeks. I had so many things that sounded good in my head, but when I sat down to write them, it just didn’t flow.

But you’d expect that from me, wouldn’t you? You know how much I strive to be perfect, and I guess the Big Dog in the sky knew that too, and so he sent me you.

I truthfully don’t know what I did to deserve a dog like you.

You were such an easy puppy, you learned not to potty in the house quickly and rarely got into mischief. The times you did, we couldn’t get mad at you.

Who could get mad at this face?

Grandma’s love seat still has those little teeth marks from the time I caught you tugging at the fabric with your teeth. You were having a grand time. Grabbing the material, pulling it out, then letting it snap back.

You were always really good about only chewing on your toys, and only rarely focused on something else, but when you did, you preferred to chew wood.

Sticks in the yard? Yup.

The coat rack I picked up one Thanksgiving. Yup.

And then of course there was the footrest on the breakfast bar. The Daddy and I had just remodeled the kitchen and I came home, and you had chewed the breakfast footrest. I was terrified to tell Daddy, but here’s the beauty of you. You had us so thoroughly wrapped around that little paw, that the Daddy just laughed and said, “I didn’t like it anyway.”

We never did replace it.

Once we got into a rhythm, we loved walking together. Back in the day, we could walk for hours, wandering the local parks, and rail trails. You still love your walks, but these days those bad back legs just can’t handle a long walk anymore.

Of course, there’s always things I wish I could change, because well, you know, me and perfection, and if I could turn back time, I’d handle the issues with your back legs differently, but I cannot.

I cannot focus on the things I cannot change because that is just wasted energy, as you well know. No, today I’m just going to focus on you and all the special times we’ve had together, and make sure your fourteenth birthday is as special as you are.

Ocean swimming

Swimming in the ocean…St. Petersburg, FL

Happy Birthday my love, I loved you yesterday, I love you today, and I’ll love you tomorrow and all the tomorrows to come.

Today we’re sharing photos and memories on our Facebook page. Be sure to check us out.

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