Open Letter to All My Friends

Dearest Friends,

It has come to my attention that most of you have decided I'm rapidly evolving into the "Crazy Dog Lady." I'd like to take a moment to address this accusation and defend myself...

- Yes, I realize that although I vacuum almost every single day (which in and of itself is rather crazy), my visitors (and myself) regularly leave my house looking like they just rolled through a big vat of dog hair

- I also realize that I spend a small fortune every month feeding, cleaning, de-flea-ing, etc. for the five dogs currently in residence

- And yes, I actually look forward to going home to see them all...

- And I know many of you take issue with the fact that most of my extracurricular activities revolve around my dogs... training, playing, walking, and (hopefully soon-to-be) therapy visits at local hospitals, nursing homes, schools

And I've determined that perhaps my friends are right. I began to reach this conclusion last night as I realized that the highlight of my day (ok, so my week) was finally, FINALLY teaching Quincy to "down" after countless training sessions during the past month. I don't know whether it was the 15th attempt at training the command, the extra yummy Hebrew National hot dogs I was using, or the fact that I was laying in the floor with him too, but the lightbulb finally went on. And once that happened, I couldn't stopping him from doing it. Before I could even get the word out of my mouth, his belly was on the floor (which of course now is something else we've got to work on because I only want him doing it when I ask - but that's a story for another time).

So as I'm laying there in my floor showering him with kisses, I thought to myself, "Ya know, if someone came in right now, they would think I was crazy." And then I thought to myself, "And they'd probably be right."

But THEN I thought, "I'm ok with being crazy. Because I love this... I love the fact that I took this beautiful dog who was about to die and saved him. I'm glad I spend a fortune to feed and help all these dogs because they're worth it. I'm glad I've worked with Quincy for almost a month now and we've accomplished SO MUCH. He now has manners (still working on his rather exuberant greeting), he's learned sit and DOWN, he's learned to wait patiently at his food bowl in order to get his breakfast and dinner, and he's just blossoming into this really great dog.

So I conclude with this message to my friends - I embrace the CRAZY life I lead. I'm saving lives, giving them second chances, and I LOVE it... I wouldn't have it any other way.