Thanksgiving

I thought for Thanksgiving I'd write about what I am thankful for in my dogs. It is a given that I've loved them unquestionably. The amount of love they gave back was limitless. And oh, what they have taught me—and continue to do so!

My girl, Suzy.

Suzy was my first dog. I had moved into a carriage house, had a good job and decided it was "time." I went to the local animal shelter and saw a big, rangy Airedale cross named Duke who struck my fancy. Yet when I brought him out of his cage to play, old Dukester was a wild man. Neither commands, nor his name elicited any response. In my tiny carriage house, and being gone during the day, I could only envision the havoc he could cause. (This was way before the sensibilities of crates.)

A friend was with me and read the tag on Suzy cage. "Look at this!" she commented. "Suzy can "come," "sit," and "lay down!"" Who would argue with that resume? Plus Suzy weighed in at about 45 pounds compared to Duke's easy 70+ pounds. Indeed, outside the confines of the shelter's cage, Suzy could follow all those commands—immediately. And so began my love affair with my little German Shepard, Border Collie cross.

Suzy was perfect. She was born to mind and what she lacked in humor, she more than made up for in love. I took her through a series of obedience classes, but it wasn't my ability to train that made her so impressive. It was just what Suzy did. She was my heart. I dated or didn't date men depending on Suzy's reaction to them or theirs to her. My life was no longer joining friends for drinks after work, but dashing home to be with my dog. Weekends weren't filled with partying, but quiet hikes with my new BFF. Suzy taught me the joy of having a dog companion, of trust, responsibility and friendship with another species that far surpassed anything I'd experienced with the dogs of my childhood. I was blessed with her presence for 18 wonderful years.

Luce, the Goose.

Lucy was my second pup and another "reject" picked up at the same shelter where I'd found Suzy. The shelter listed her as an English Springer Spaniel, Australian Shepherd cross. Humor? She had it in spades. What a funny, goofy dog. Friends called her "Goose" since she was such a character. It was nice to have a pup who didn't take herself, or life, quite so seriously. Lucy knew how to enjoy herself.

On the other hand, she was a handful. Leash aggressive and bull-headed. Life with Lucy was a whole different ballgame. She lived for her nose and would follow it over everything else. Walking her anywhere was an exercise for me in full-blown alertness. I was constantly changing course on walks to avoid other dogs and I developed a "loose-dog" antenna that most have been visible.

Plus, for the last four years of her very short decade of life, Lucy was sick. Her back, her head, her cancer. All different things in which the vets performed myriads of tests on the poor girl. How she hated vet offices! Surgeries, drugs, internal investigations, MRIs, you name it.

So what did Lucy teach me? She taught me to be grateful for the times when she chose to mind, when she didn't attack another dog, when she was feeling good and wanted to be with us. Those times were such a reprieve and so wonderful.

And now we are blessed with the amazing Miss Bella. Bella isn't a shelter dog. My sister-in-law has Bellie's half-sister, a purebred Australian Shepherd. Molly is such a kind, placid jewel, that I decided that was the kind of dog I needed after Lucy. Luckily, the neighbor's lab was Johnny-on-the-spot, and voila!  A mixed litter.

The amazing Miss Bella.

Bella has Lucy's goofiness and Suzy's loyalty. I can walk anywhere with Bella without fear an ensuing dog fight. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. The antenna I developed with Lucy has all but disappeared. Bella likes everything—people, kids, dogs, cats—you name it, she likes it! What a joy! Bella also wants to be with us. Being in our presence is something she desires. Hiking or biking with her is no problem as she won't be out of sight.

All my dogs have made me a better owner. I'm more knowledgeable than I was when Suzy came home with me and Bella is the recipient of that improved consciousness. I continue to learn from Bellie. Instead of expecting her to always understand me, I'm trying oh-so-hard to understand what she's trying to tell me.

I can't imagine being dog-less. My life is so much richer for it and for that, I am oh so grateful! As a friend said about her pound pup, "It's not so much that we rescued him, it's more like he rescued us..."