Doggone days of summer

My Granny got her doggy companion, Sweetie, about a year ago and that's when my dogological clock started ticking. I fell in love with that cute little pooch and realized I really needed to have a pup of my own one day with the hubs.

Now we have our furry bundle of love, and Granny and I finally made a date to introduce Sweetie and Princeton to each other. Technically, Sweetie is Princeton's Great Aunt (okay, so I got a little carried away with the family tree, but if Sweetie is her child and Princeton is mine...), but the 6-ish year-old maltese/yorkie mix acted like a puppy, full of spritely energy and loving every second of attention. Meanwhile, Princeton was a very calm guest and preferred to chill out and watch his new canine family member spend all her energy. You'd think Princeton was the old fart of the family (and why not, with his Andy Rooney eyebrows?!), but he's only about a year and still getting used to his new home with us.

We started the morning with playtime on Granny's enclosed patio:

Then, I drove all of us to lunch where we ate outside and enjoyed some sub sandwiches. You'd never know we were there to eat -- it seems like all I did was snap photos of the dogs on the sidewalk. Every person that walked by during the busy lunch hour stopped to pet the dogs and ask about them. They ARE pretty cute and only someone without a soul could resist a smile.

After lunch, we headed over to the park. Since Granny is 80-something, Sweetie doesn't really get to run around and frolick through the park, so I grabbed the leash and ran her around. She loved playing and definitely appreciated the exercise. At one point, I ran Princeton AND Sweetie together and I got all tangled up in the leash!

 

I took a cute pic of Granny with her sweet Sweetie:

And then she really felt the puppy love!

 

This older woman was walking by us and stopped to say hello to the doggies. She began to tell us about the joy and heartache she went through with her own dog. We all agreed that dogs are wonderful creatures who bring us so much joy, but when they are gone, the pain is indescribable. I think we made her day by letting her talk about her deceased loved one. She was so grateful to have the opportunity to let her feelings out and told us she felt she could now move on with the healing process. We all agreed that dogs do so much for us, and when they are no longer here to chase rabbits and chew treats, they've got to find themselves in a doggie heaven full of grass and toys. It must be hard to be at the end of your life, without your human friends and suddenly without your furry friend. Granny sounded so relieved to have Sweetie in her life, as they'll both be able to grow older together. While this exchange seems very sad and depressing on the surface, it makes me happy to know that dogs are like family members and have provided such necessary love and companionship to those in need of it. Why pay for therapy when you've got dog kisses?