an October to remember

Did you ever wake up feeling that you finally have embraced all your worrying sticky points, and have strategies to cope with all of them, and your dog is so sweet, and the morning walk with him is so fine...

 

 

 

(um, Henry, where'd you go?)

 

 

... and isn't this a glorious Fall morning to be out and about?

 

 

 

Yeah!

(the Edge, in the morning, in the Fall)

 

Henry is settling into his routines. I can tell. He is excited to go out in the morning, excited to return home, excited to be part of this awesome doggie life of his.

I sit down to breakfast...

...and then crash! I get a text from my daughter. She's sick. There is something seriously wrong with her. She drops Goose off with a neighbor and goes to the clinic. The upshot? She has a horrible case of pneumonia (I'm bewildered: last night we were planning a long walk today with our dogs! When did this happen?!). They called an ambulance. She is in the hospital.

I'm to retrieve Goose from the neighbor's. The plan is to take him to the doggie day care. It's shockingly convenient: my daughter's house is five minutes down the road. The doggie day care is five minutes in the other direction. The kids' schools are close by. I am so grateful for all this! But still, how do I handle everything, with my own pooch suffering all my departures? 

I take him with me in the car's back seat. I shove Goose in the hatchback portion of the car and put on soothing classical music. 

(at the day care, finally)

 

 

I decide to leave Henry there as well. It will be his first visit, but he has a familiar pal along and I need to be dog-free for the chores today: picking up the kids, taking them home, picking up deliveries, taking Goose home and being available in case my daughter needs me.

The daycare is a godsend, but of course, it's DAY care, so the dogs can only stay so long. Kids, at the Edge, somewhat unnerved that quite suddenly their mom is in the hospital.

And then I get the "reverse call" -- they're sending me home! Fantastic. Crisis averted. Or at least things appear to be on the upswing.

With kids in the car, excited at reclaiming not one but two students of doggie day care, I drive to pick up Goose and Henry. Of course, I get a report card on his first day: he was good, but he doesn't seem to know his name... True enough, Henry has only been Henry for about a week! He got a little rambunctious once or twice, but otherwise he was fine! I felt like the parent of a kid who was standing next to the class genius -- Goose. Mine? Oh, just fine. I was looking for words that would describe my pup as a sweet and lovable dog as I know him -- full of heart, gentle and smart. Oh well. I used his name a lot for the rest of the evening. 

Henry comes back to the Edge with me exhausted. No kidding, buddy!

Hungry Henry. He is such a dynamic eater that I have to resort to the newest slow-down bowl. (What will they think of next...)

 

 

 

I'm hoping I have no more urgent calls or texts tonight. Really, in this case, no news will be good news. Right, Henry?

with so much love...