It wasn’t long until I found another dog. It was a year ago today, well, really a year ago on Election Day. Won’t ever forget that day. Although I do still miss Tippy and shed a little tear when I see photos of him. He was such a photo-bomber, in so many photos uninvited. I was tipped off about a possible older puppy by my friend Amy, and got attached to her even just seeing her “available” photo online. She had been diagnosed with vision problems in both eyes, but I thought I could handle a special needs dog.
In three days I had arranged to hop on a plane and head to Ohio, non stop from Seattle. Bella Thompson delivered her to me at the hotel in Columbus, covid precautions and all, did our paperwork on the tailgate of her SUV, and I scooped her up and came home the next day, Hardly anyone was on the plane, no one in the row next to me, not in the middle seat anywhere. The air was fresh and the dog was quiet in her little soft carrier under the seat in front of me. All anyone could ask for.
The special needs are not about her eyes, they are to try to keep her upright when she jumps for joy at seeing and greeting strangers on the street. If the leash is too tight she will flip over onto her back. She really thinks she can fly. That’s what happens when you don’t have good depth perception, I think. She doesn’t step off a curb, she leaps, and when she finally got used to the stairs she flew up them like a shot. She has made friends with a few specific people and merchants up and down the streets where we walk and makes a beeline for their various doorsteps when we head that way, dragging me behind her hanging on the leash for dear life. People are her favorite toys.
In spite of or because of all my care for the “special needs” she has bloomed into an overweight and rather matronly dog with a voracious appetite, or addiction to treats. It is my fault and I have to remedy this. I really have to watch out how much I feed her. As Boo says, “Feed her the amounts listed for the weight she should be, not what she is.” I have taken that to heart.
She has been in a few photos since she got here, but I didn’t post anything about her anywhere until today. So here she is.