The best therapy

When my first partner died, I was kind of a mess. I had dropped about 30-40 pounds myself, just from stress, and weighed what I had when I was 16 years old. Needless to say, the weight has come back, and then some. I contemplated many things, including selling the house and moving away because I didn't really have anything to hold me in Virginia. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. (Still don't, I guess.) Bert's death came as a suprise to many because few people even knew he was sick. As messed up as I was, I found that I was actually better prepared for it than many others. The thing that helped me the most in those days was not the well meaning people who tried to help me, but rather, the attempts I made to help other people deal with the shock, the loss, the devastation that they felt. Don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this.

In the current mess that is my life, I again contemplated many things. Changing jobs is a given. Moving isn't really an option in today's market. Giving up rescue work was certainly considered, but rejected when I decided to run again for the board of directors of VGSR. I have cut back and will continue to reduce the number of foster dogs around here, but I don't want to give it up entirely and what happened today is the reason why.

Holiday was adopted from the Gainesville adoption event today. A dog adoption is always enough to make me happy, but this one was kind of special. The official adopter is a man younger than me with three kids. The real adopter, however, was his daughter, who both wanted and I think, needed, the dog. I'm not going to publish her picture, of course, but the young woman came alive when she had the dog, and talked in a way that she hadn't previously. From what I understand, they've been through some rough times, and she needed a break, and something positive as the focus of her attention. There is nothing like a dog for that. And Holiday seemed to light up with her as well. She wagged her tail and walked off with her without even looking back. My feelings aren't hurt. I was glad to see that.

There were younger, cuter dogs there today. But I think that she and Holiday struck a chord in each other. There was a mutual need that the other could fill. So, anyone who thinks that I do this out of the goodness of my heart is full of crap. It's entirely selfish, it makes me feel good, and it's cheaper than therapy.


It was a good day all the way around. Jeep and Betty got some interest and Jeep was less shy than his first time out. I think Score may be getting a home this week or next weekend.