Bye, bye Bertie and Lily and Crissy and Sport and Monroe and Allie and, tonight, Tag.
Meg’s puppies have all gone to happy places and happy lives. I am surprised how much emotion accompanied this ‘Puppy Venture” we embarked on a few months ago. I was fascinated by the facts and figures and all the things about doggie animal husbandry we learned about. I will miss seeing our boys disappear beneath the fuzzy, furry pile of wriggling, eager pups. I’ll miss trying to gather and hold all that fluffy cuteness at once. I didn’t expect the stressure (stress and pressure) of placing these, now precious, lives into good homes. I mean, what if nobody wanted to buy these darling creatures that we were responsible for, but could not keep ourselves?
I also didn’t expect the shear pleasure at bringing together an eager new owner and a puppy we had carefully nurtured. It has been something we won’t soon forget.
Kylee’s mother told me that Kylee has been saving her money and watching KSL ads for just the right puppy since Christmas. This morning she saw Tag. This evening she took him home.
I asked Kylee if she had been looking for a Border Collie only, or if she liked other breeds too. She likes German Shepherds and Aussies (this gal reminds me so much of myself at her age). One big deciding factor was the tail – besides the basics of friendliness, loyalty and intelligence, she wanted a swishing, feathery tail and expressive markings. Tag will have a foxy, full, swishy tail and very expressive markings – just like his mother and sire.
It was a joyful meeting. As they were headed to their car Meg came around the corner of the house. She sat down by me and watched as her last puppy got into a car and was taken away. Then, something else I didn’t expect. Meg went into the house quietly and laid down in a tight ball, her eyes half closed. She didn’t come nudge for a pet or sit at the back door ready to go out for a romp. She just laid. All evening. It is almost midnight and she is still there. They say that dogs, especially the more intelligent breeds, can sense how people are feeling at any given moment. Tonight, I tried to reverse that and sense how our Meg is feeling. She has been constantly with canine companions for weeks. She was a vigilant mother. For 3 weeks, her puppies’ whole world: their only source of nourishment and cleanliness. She has frolicked and romped with them and showed them the ropes of chicken herding. She has had Reggie and Daisy and puppies to give expression to that playfulness that Border Collies never seem to lose. Now, all is quiet and it’s just her and her two-legged friends again. I stroked her head and told her how good she is and how pretty. I thanked her for giving us such beautiful puppies. I told her I was sorry for scolding her for visiting the neighbors this morning. I laid down by her and cried and hugged her and thought how lucky I am that I have creatures to love and take care of. I thanked her for epitomizing the sage advise to:
Wag More Bark Less
And tomorrow morning I will take my bike and our dog and we will go for a long romp. And I will teach her something new. And we will begin a new chapter together.
