Miss that girl - a lot

Three years, it's been three years since Winnie died. Whew. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her, but now three years later it's always with a smile and very seldom with sadness.

I got Winnie when I was 25, at a time where I was quickly realizing that I was not the center of the universe and when crap from my past started seeping its way into my life. This girl you see here in the photo was there for me through ALL of it. All the crap, the sadness, joy, delight, pain, desire, broken hearts, all of it, she was there. Through many relationships, friendships, jobs, she was waiting by the door ready to go for a walk. She kept me going through times where I questioned my own sanity, doubted my abilities, dragged myself through the mud. That forked tongue panting away was there to help me live in the moment. Forget about the troubles and just go to the park. I know that she wasn't a person, but that makes it all the more special. She didn't make person mistakes. She didn't accidently do something that I took the wrong way. She didn't gossip and try to make herself look better. She stood tall and out in front (much to Cesar Milan's dismay). She was an angel sent from heaven to live with me here on earth and to get me through a long period in my life that otherwise would have been much more disastrous. Even though she's gone, she not really gone. She changed me. In hard times, in desperate times, I think of her and remind myself that there is goodness, that finding those moments of delight, of sniffing the best smelling street ever, of the never ending excitement over dinner time, of curling up and snuggling with your favorite blanket, is how you are supposed to live. She  showed me how to live in the moment and even though it's a struggle to not feel the stress of life, I can sit back and imagine her face when I picked up the leash. Absolute joy.

My dad sent me this quote and it pretty much sums up what it's like to be a "dog person". I know people who don't get "it" and never will, but I also know many many people who do get it. Here's to all my friends that get it!