Free At Last

Milestone Alert:  This is Post number 400, Dear Readers. Wow! I feel just like Ted Williams.

Thank you all.  And here’s to making it 500.

And now it’s time to reveal my shameful little secret.

For the first time in my life, I am dog-free.

And I love it.

(Sorry, all you dog lovers.)

Now don’t go flying off the leash and tell me that I don’t know what unconditional love I am missing.  I have always been owned by dogs.

Here’s just a PARTIAL list of breeds I have had:

1.  Beagle
2.  Standard Poodle (4)
3.  Miniature Poodle
4.  Yorkshire Terrier
5.  Afghan Hound
6.  Doberman Pincher
7.  Bassett Hound (2)
8.  English Bulldog
9.  Scottish Terrier (3)
10.  Siberian Husky
11.  German Shepherd (2)

From Afghans to Yorkies, I have shared my life- and sometimes my bed- with all these four-legged friends. I even have a wish list of dogs I still long to own:

1. French Bulldog
2.  Brussels Griffon (the “Verdel” dog in As Good As it Gets.)
3.  Shetland Sheepdog
4.  Collie
5.  Dandie Dinmont
6.  Sealyham Terrier
7.  Bedlington Terrier
8.  Boston Bull Terrier
9.  Wirehaired Fox Terrier

I have loved dogs ceaselessly from the time I can remember.  When I was three, my stuffed dog, Pal, got dragged around mercilessly by a leash made out of my bathrobe tie.

My favorite tv show were Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.

My favorite movie was – hands down- Lady and The Tramp.  (I still can’t discuss Old Yeller. OMG. Rabies? Travis shooting his own dog? I’m still traumatized.)

I’ve lived all my life by the 8 o’clock and 4 o’clock feeding schedule.  I’ve given insulin injections to a diabetic husky and held their paws as they’ve made that last journey across the Rainbow Bridge.

I’ve had as many as four dogs at once and was such a steady client that my vet came to my thyroidectomy surgery. (He said that my thyroid was the exact same size as a cat’s and although he had done many, he had never seen an operation performed on human before. What else could I do?  I invited him to scrub in.)

I’ve spent thousands of dollars on blue-blooded pedigreed pups and I’ve adopted the homeless from the great team at Denver’s Rocky Mountain Scottie Rescue.

I’ve had good dogs and bad dogs and chronically ill dogs- Demodex mange, severe liver dysfunction- and smart dogs and dumb dogs and brave dogs and dogs who were timid.

You name it, I’ve lived with it.

And if there is a heaven, I’d like to be reunited with ALL of them after I die. I’d give anything to see them again.

But my last two dogs- Scottie Gillis and German Shepherd Fritz- died within two days of each other.  The shock of that- combined with a move to an apartment- finished me off emotionally and practically.

Sure, the apartment seemed horribly empty and sad. And it was weird and lonely not to have anyone happy to see me when I came home.

I just didn’t think it was right to keep a dog on a leash all the time or alone a lot of the day when I had to go to work.

It was really tough at first, but little by little, I got used to it.

But lately, I must confess, a new emotion has been washing over me.

It’s the delirious feeling of FREEDOM.

I can walk out of my house, go to work, and then hop on a train and be home…

Wait for it.

Never.

If I water the plant and wind the clock, my household runs like clockwork for at least a week.

What a feeling!

It’s just the best thing.

For now.

I’ve entered the AARP years and I don’t want to worry any more about finding the right kennel or a competent dog sitter.

I’m sure I’ll change my mind again at some point.

But for now- and the foreseeable future- freedom’s just another word for nothing left to walk.