I’m Back!!

We made it back safe and sound. It was an emotionally and physically exhausting week. There were a lot of tears going through old photos and listening to stories about my baby sister at the memorial service. But there were plenty of fun times too. Lots of laughter and play time with the kids. After the official memorial services we had a party in honor of Shannon at my parent’s. Drinks, food and a live blue grass band made for a good time, but the best was dancing to *NSYNC at the end of the night. I feel I must say that I don’t own a *NSYNC album, but it’s what Shannon would have wanted to listen to, so it was very appropriate that night. Eleanor especially enjoyed dancing with all the girls. Man, can that girl shake her little 15 month old hips!

One of the funnest parts of the week was meeting Digger. The photo above is him all dressed in his “work” outfit. My parents have only had him for a few weeks. He’s half retriever, half lab and all softness. Well, except for those razor sharp puppy teeth. I cannot wait until he grinds those down a bit. If all goes well, Digger will become a Canine Companion for someone with a disability of some nature. My parents decided to do this in memory of Shannon, who loved her canine companion, Ken. Ken passed away a little over a year ago now but he meant the world to Shannon. Giving her a higher confidence level and that complete love only a dog can give.

Ken was always a bit like Eeyore, sluggish and sweet. Digger is full of energy and mischief. Just as a puppy should be. After a couple weeks of cleaning up piddle puddles though, my parent’s are not sure if they like having him around. But I know the truth. I know they’re happy to have someone to care for again. They’ll have Digger for about 18 months, when he’ll go into intensive training and then hopefully on to a new owner. There’s about a 50% success rate with dogs trained for this purpose. Meaning half don’t make the cut. This is one of those double edge swords. While Digger not making the cut would mean the family could keep the cute little guy, the whole purpose is, of course, for him to succeed. Which means leaving us. Best not to think about it too much.

The organization encourages the puppy raisers to let other family members take the puppy for periods of time. I can’t wait until it’s our turn. On the other hand, I’m happy to wait until he’s potty trained.