Dear Dad

Dear Dad,
A monumental day today. I hope you got front row seats! This is one of those days that people will ask years from now where you were and what you were doing...and many will recount with nostalgia such vivid stories that include a ridiculous amount of detail like what it was that they were wearing, what the weather was like for the day (and how it changed throughout the afternoon) and maybe what kind of TV was showing "the moment", along with a story of how it got there. Or even who was around them while it was happening. It's good though...moments like these are a sign of things about to change...which I think is always a good thing -even when you'd wish for time to stand still indefinitely. And after all of this history changing stuff going on, all I can think of is the dog that I'm sure is out there in the cold somewhere by himself. I guess I need to back up a little bit: After our walk with the dogs on Sunday my mind was stuck on the "lost dog" (or so the sign said) and I wanted so badly to help him. I posted a link on craigslist.com and I got an email yesterday about someone who lost a dog in the area and her description was pretty much dead on. Eric went to the neighbor's house that was holding onto the dog and the woman of the house seemed pretty crazy-pants, so Eric took the dog with him. The crazy-pants lady couldn't have been happier. The lady thinking her family dog may have been found, came by the house hoping to take her dog home. Prior to her getting here, I had visions of crying at the dog/person reunion...I can't imagine losing one of our dogs. Only to find out that the emotional event in my mind wasn't going fall into the mold that I had assigned. This unnamed dog could and does still stand in the "lost" dog line-up, unfortunately right a long with her dog. She knew even before she got all the way out the door in the back that he didn't belong with her family. So we (dog and us) were stuck with each other at this point...at least for the night. He was so very friendly...however we weren't sure how he would be with other dogs or exactly where he fell on the health scale, so we kept him separated him from our dogs. He stayed on the couches in the garage and hopefully slept okay for the night. In the morning after he had a little breakfast, Eric had him outside and I think Shadow must have scared him with a bark from other side of the backyard fence. He just took off down the street...even with the harness and leash, borrowed from Lola-Bacon, still attached to him. It's so cold tonight and it's supposed to be colder tomorrow. James says that I gave him a death sentence...I know he thinks that I shouldn't get involved. I just couldn't help it. Many times I would prefer dogs over people. I think too often we as humans, dismiss and discard animals and I can't imagine how low and empty it must feel to be one of the dismissed and discarded. If I'm able to help or save one, I'm hoping it makes the ones that slip through the fingers (like this lost guy) worth it. Well I don't know about worth it...but I can only hope it makes it feel a little better.

-Tiff