3 FUNNY DOGS

It's A Go !

So what happened next?  Of course, I had to make the call to my friends and share what to me, was the devastating news that the Trip of a Lifetime would not be going to see Oprah.  Lucky for me, my friends, all of them it seems, don't get as disappointed about things not working out the way I had imagined and planned. They seem to get over it so easy, so quickly!  I like that about them. Except for when I want them to be passionate about my ideas. Then, it would be nice, when I'm disappointed about something if at least one of them could throw themselves on the floor and scream like a 3 year old, because, they too, are disappointed! But no, it's never happened, not even once, have any of my friends given me the gift of a tantrum over something that I am SOOOO disappointed about.

Instead, they act all mature and say things like. "Oh well, we'll find something else to do. We'll make it just as fun."  That's it? How, How, HOW, can we possibly find something else to do that would even compare to a trip to hang out with Oprah?

A trip to the Wine Country came up as an option.

                       
Although, I was not going to get over it that easy, it did sound kinda fun.  At least it would be beautiful!  So I agreed and starting making plans.

Oh, have I mentioned, that at this point I had been spending hours online for almost a year   looking at  Tibetan Terrier puppies?  It had become my favorite hobby and some days it's all I wanted to do!  Everything I read about them, everyone I saw, made me love them more and more. And, I mean LOVE them!  But, I had never seen one in person! 

Tibetan Terriers are special and it takes a big commitment to become a parent to one because they are. . .  just like children. They like to spend every waking moment with their person, they are active, they are really smart, and they like to be treated just like a person, because they actually think they are people. That is why they are often referred to "kids in Dog suits" :)  So, I knew if I ever got one it would be a big commitment!  If you are thinking they are just too cute and want one, really think it out, and make sure they will fit into your life style. They are not the kind of dog you feed and leave for the day.  That would just be too sad for them!  Companionship is at the top of their priorities.

Back to the Wine Country trip.  I was kinda excited to go there because I had found someone in all my hours of searching,  who had Tibetan Terriers, and was located in the Wine Country. Hmmmn, a new plan! :)

I set it all up with the Tibetan Terrier breeder to see if we could come by while we were on our trip to the Wine Country.  JUST get a look, and a feel for what these most wonderful dogs, I had read so much about were really like.

Then I told my friends the Wine Country was a GO!

Perhaps, I hadn't mentioned that there were also Tibetan Terriers in the Wine Country. :)

That's my Dog!

Saying goodbye to Buff was one of the hardest things I've had to do in life.  I loved that little dog with my whole heart. I had lost my mom just two years before, and that too, was my greatest loss. 

I was very torn about getting another dog. No dog could take Buff's place or even fill that hole.  I had never picked my own dog. Every dog in my life had just come to me.
After two years of missing Buff, I went on a spring vacation to Calistoga CA. As I was browsing through the very fun stores of that town I ran across a book. It was just all pictures of puppies and dogs, as I thumbed through it I was giggly about how cute  and adorable these dogs were, I throughly enjoying myself!

  But then, I turned the page and there he was!  This was a bit of a weird experience for me.  As I looked down at this dog on the page tears filled my eyes, my heart started to beat fast and I wanted to just scream out with joy, I just knew that was my dog! The dog I had drawn over and over throughout my childhood, the dog that had lived in my heart for all these years. The dog I had dreamed about.
I was having one of those moments, where you have no idea why you are having a certain reaction but you know you need a moment alone to take it all in.  I was in a store though, with other people, and here I was just looking at puppy book and doing all I could to hold back sobs of joy and not be noticed by anyone.
 
I was hoping my close friend that was with me wouldn't notice cause I knew I couldn't explain all that was going on inside me. I knew I needed that book though, I needed that picture!  I had no idea what kind of dog this was, the book didn't list a single breed. I pulled myself together enough to make my  way up to pay for it. I took that book home and looked at that picture of that dog over and over and kept having the same teary, heart racing reaction each time I would look at him.
Finally, I cut the picture out of the book and put it in a frame and put it in my living room area.  People would come over and say whose dog is this?  I'd tell them "that's my dog!"  "I didn't know you had a dog!"  I'd hear that over and over from friends.  "He's not here yet."  "Oh did you order him or something? What kind is he?"  I would begin to explain to them that  I didn't know what breed of dog he was but I did  know he was my dog!  And,that I'd find him someday or he would come to me.

I know people probably think I'm goofy. But my friends have come to expect it from me. And, I always encourage others to dream and believe in big crazy dreams.  I still keep it in a frame by my entry way cause I love it, it represents so much to me. Cause wait till you hear what happened! :)
Okay, so I'll post that picture I found that day. Here he is! :)

How It All Began

I think some people are just born animal lovers. I think this was true for me. I was a born dog lover. No one had to teach me to see the joy, fun and fulfillment that can come by having a deep bond with a dog.

However, I must admit my stepfather influenced me to see the beauty of a dog's personality.  Not by any life lessons he sat down and taught me, but I learned how to see the value of a dog through his eyes. I have to say it was one of the best things he taught me. But, although we had family dogs, Bebe and Julie, and they brought me such a sense belonging and connection, still they weren't all mine.  Therefore my stepfather, seeing and understanding my true love for dogs would love to provoke me at times.  During my early years of high school I remember him seeing me lying on the floor playing with the dogs, throwing the ball, laughing, having a good time, and he would say to my mom so I could hear him, "When are they picking up the dogs?"  She would throw "that look" at him and say "STOP IT!" That's all it would take to engage me. "What?  What?  What are you talking about?  Who's picking up the dogs?  Where are they going?"  "Oh Mom didn't tell you?" he would say to me.  "We have decided to give away the dogs.  The man is coming today to pick them up.  They are going to a farm - you better say goodbye."  Instantly, I would go from the joy of playing with Bebe and Julie to utter emotional chaos of grieving the loss of them.
Right at that moment is when he should have walked over to the jar and added more money for my future counseling.  :)  Wouldn't that be funny if parents really had to do that, add money to THE COUNSELING JAR?  Whenever they do something that created the emotional chaos, if they would have to toss more money in the jar?  On the sending the dogs to the farm day, my stepfather should have had to put at least $300 in the COUNSELING JAR!!  Maybe more! Or should the price have gone up the second time he did it or the third time?  Oh yes, my mom tried to tell me that he was just messing with my head, and he got a real kick out of my reaction.  But, he knew just what to say to trigger me, and it did, many times, until I realized. . . that tea cup poodles were not exactly the breed of dog that is sent off to a farm.:)  I couldn't wait for the day until I had a dog that was all my own!