Say it ain't so!

As some of you who've kept up with this blog or visited my forum might know, I live in a dog house. No, not because I'm in trouble but because there are six dogs (and three humans, one bird, one chinchilla) living here.

One of the dogs is actually my daughter's dog -- when Shannon got married in June '08, she and her husband were going to be living in motels while Greg trained with CSX Railroad, so two of their dogs went to live on his folks' farm down in Waycross, Georgia, but the little one -- chihuahua-mix, Reese (in the photo, she's the all brown one, with the underbite; the other one is Liesl, a "bugg"-- Boston Terrier/Pug mix -- and Reese's BFF), came to us. Little did we know that the training period would extend for nearly a year (I don't know how anybody with a family could have done it). So, Reese has been a part of our daily life for all this time. But, now, Shannon and Greg have been placed in a permanent location and, as soon as they get a house, Reese will go live with them.

I've known this was coming and it's always been in the back of my mind but, now that the time approaches, it's really starting to weigh on me. Last night, I dreamed that some animal group came and took Reese -- as if we'd only been fostering her -- and I was wailing about her "waking up with some strange family". Now, is that my inner soul screaming or what?

Anyway, I know I have to let her go -- she is my "granddog" and I will see her again. I worry about her, though -- about Shannon going to work full-time and leaving her all day when she's used to having me around and in and out. Yeah, the other two dogs will be there eventually but is that really the same, I ask you?!

Anyway, life is full of goodbyes in varying degrees. This will just be another one. And, honestly, if I can send my children off to college, you'd think this wouldn't be so hard!