A Little Back Story

My little Brownie girl

Like I said earlier, my Brownie girl meant everything to me. She was beautiful, obedient, compliant. She anticipated my next move even before I thought it. She gave me an alarm when something was wrong that I was unaware of.
   She had my back, and I had hers. No one and no thing could replace what she meant to me. 
    Yet a few things occured in the weeks that followed her death that opened my mind, and mostly my heart to the possibility of another dog in my life, with the caveat of course, that it be just like Brownie.

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I was visiting Janie's cabin a few weeks after Brownie's passing. While walking around the yard, this dog appeared.

"Brownie?" I wondered.

     I did a double-take with my heart leaping inside. For a flash- "Brownie?"

     It wasn't Brownie. It was Ken Hunt's dog which kept bringing me sticks to throw. "I don't want to throw a stick, " I told him. But he was insistent, bringing me stick after stick. This was just like Brownie- wouldn't quit until I acquiesced. Well, I did, and of course, that led into more sticks which probably would not have stopped had Janie and I not walked into the creek to cool off.

     This dog (I can't remember his name) was so smart. As I chatted, this dog kept responding to my comments to Janie, such as "I need a stick to keep my balance." He brought me one, but I told Janie, "This one is too flimsy." In a minute he was dragging a big stick, almost a log, up the creek to me. We cracked up laughing. For the rest of my stay, he stayed close to me.

     He was such a joy, such a pleasure, such a gift. I appreciated the few hours of dog-and-me time we had. Until he came, I had no idea I could enjoy another dog. My heart cracked open, just a crack mind you, to the possibility...