A few more musings

It has been a delightful Sunday. We did some work, we relaxed a bit and played with the 'flat disk' with Mr Handsome. We watched the Philadelphia Flyers eliminate the New York Rangers and are watching the sun start to set across our back yard. There is a light breeze and the fir trees and our Japanese maple are swaying gently. Samson is asleep on his bed, at least for the moment.

It's about this time when I think about Allie. She lived such a fabulous life. She valiantly fought horrific allergies and was able to live because of amazing veterinary care (Dr. Rick & staff, MSU and Dr. Eli). She battled back from leptospirosis, kidney failure and other awful illnesses. And she never struggled or fought me when I put four pills a night down her throat. There will never be a sweeter dog than our Allister.

After Allie died, our house was clean. No dog hair anywhere. German shepherd dogs have another nickname - German shedding dogs or General shedding dogs. We had a clean house for a while...until Samson came to live with us. He is NO exception from the GSD... Jeez, can he shed. We can't figure out how he isn't naked. Of course, it's that time of year and the winter coat is coming off and we have to be more intentional about his brushing. We started with the shedding tool and keep it near the door when we have had him outside. It will really help.

Allie did shed but she was a much darker dog and it was easier to see her hair. When Samson found us, I thought (naively) that a lighter dog wouldn't show as much. Well that was stupid. And wrong. Samson seems to shed at the speed of light and it is all over the house. When Allie left us we thought that it would be years before we brought another furry family member home. But Samson found us in a beautiful, heart-warming story and we simply couldn't say no. It was meant to be. Is he a pain in the neck sometimes? You bet. But he doesn't run around asking stupid, rhetorical questions and by all accounts, is a happy, happy dog. And we are happy, happy people.