The loss of Schultz was devastating. My buddy, my companion, my shadow. But with every life there's a death. With every death... life goes on.
I've been quite lonely here at the house. Les and Mindy go up to the property to work every day. He cuts up fallen trees or pulls up scrub oak. He builds an outhouse or improves drainage on the property. He goes in the morning and returns late afternoon. And I am in my office so much.
I used to love it when Schultz would come in and put his chin on my knee. He'd look up at me with those beautiful brown eyes. He could look right into my soul. And I missed that so much that I started looking at www.Petfinder.com for dogs. I wanted another German Shepherd to take Schultz's place.
That very evening Les came home to tell me that he stopped by our friend, Jack's home. There was a stray German Shepherd. Jack didn't know who she belonged to. Before the words were even out of his mouth I was running down the hall and grabbing my keys. Les was objecting the whole time but all of that fell on deaf ears. We drove over to the canyon. Jack was gone. There was no sign of the dog. But I whistled and here she came.
We brought her home. Mindy was thrilled to have a play mate. The next day I was so happy to have a furry friend here while Les and Mindy went up to the property. But trouble started as soon as they got home. The new dog showed quite a bit of aggression toward Mindy. This would not do. Sadly, I took her to the shelter. As she is a pure breed, there should be no problem finding a home for her.
And that left another dog-shaped hole in my heart.
Les was adamant that he didn't want another dog yet. And as much as I want to respect his feelings, I'm the one here all by myself all the time. I told him that I'd even settle for a smaller dog if that's what he wanted. After some "discussion" I went into my office and cool off a little. Shortly thereafter, Les comes in and asks me what I'm doing. "Working," I replied. "I thought you were going to the shelter," he questioned. "You will always do what you want no matter what I say anyway." (He knows me all too well.)
With that I ran down the hall and grabbed my keys again. And with Les in reluctant agreement, we trekked over to the shelter. One look at the adoptable dogs and Les was putty in their paws. We looked at all of their little faces and the choice came down to two. The shelter staff took one out for us and we fell in love right then and there.
She had kennel cough so we didn't want to bring her home until she was better. But every day last week I'd go to the shelter and brush her and love her. I finally brought her home last Thursday. She's a Red Heeler -- an Australian Cattle Dog. It looks to me like she's a pure bred, but I don't know. I do know that she's 2-3 years old. And she's sweet as can be. She and Mindy are a perfect match. They're the same size and breed. She's a good mellow match to Mindy's puppy exuberance.
We named her Lucy. She's a red-head. And Thursday would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday. We thought it fitting.Welcome Home Lucy!!!!
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