Sweet old Shell

Shelley didn't make this trip to Kentucky with us, we only spent one night and travelling in the car is tough on her and the other occupants. She's still beautiful to look at, but her halitosis and flatulence are something beyond compare.

I kind of hate for her to miss a trip to my Mom & Dad's, when she was a younger dog she was in her glory there. It's a little like doggy nirvana - more land to run on than you could ever want, squirrels to chase, dog buddies to play with, kids to bark at, water hoses to obsess over, tractors to herd and a couple of cats to torment.

Shelley always stays with Janny & Ronald when we travel - even up to a month at a time. She makes herself right at home and always seems completely at ease. When we first moved to this neighborhood and had a much smaller yard, I worried that she was going to be very unhappy. I don't think it would have taken a lot of begging for them to have opened their home to her.

Shell was in the backyard when we got home Sunday and I made it in the house without her knowing - when I walked back outside to get my bags and spoke to her she did not know me.

My heart broke into...

Shelley has lost her hearing and apparently now her sight is going too. Once she got closer and got a good whiff of me, I was officially welcomed home.

(On a funny note - just let me say, trying to get the attention of a deaf dog for a picture is a bitch.)