Okay, he's a
dog [literally] named Riley, and he is
beautiful!Congratulations, Wendy! It's not everyday that one can brag about her pup being professionally photographed for a coffee table book! I would be absolutely *beaming*. These photos totally made me smile - thank you for sharing. The one I selected for this blog entry is my favorite.
I've come to believe that "love" and "conquer" should not be used together in the same sentence.
Being raised on Christian values and belief systems, I always held onto the concept that if I just loved enough, everything would be all right somehow. Relationships would be saved, life would transcend all obstacles, people wouldn't be so disappointing, I wouldn't be such a disappointment; diseases would be healed, life would be all that it was meant to be... if I would just continue to love.
After trying and trying and clinging so blindly to the concept that "love conquers all," I've finally realized that no, it does not. Sometimes, and often, love is not enough.
Love can get me through a lot, yes. Love can bring a desire to survive and to move forward, yes. Love can help me to be more gentle with myself and accepting of others, yes. But there will always be those times and those relationships in which clinging to love will utterly and completely shatter me... and I'm not willing to "go there" anymore.
After many, many broken years, I now believe that the greatest companion to love is listening to reason and knowing when to walk away. Perhaps the greatest way to show love - not just to others, but to myself - is to truly know when it is best to let go. Love does not conquer all, but surely, letting go will show me when love is actually worth fighting for.
There is a happy ending to the stray dog story. Right now, I don't have photos with me, but I'll add a few in after I write this entry [got some pretty cute ones]!
The short story is that Lily really needed a home that kept her stimulated 110% of the time. Even a mellow husky needs that attention, and we realized it within a week. MacReady did really well with her, but he just could not keep up with her. The two of them had too big of an age gap for us to be able to be fair pet owners, so we realized by last Thursday that we had to find her a home.
Luckily, Mom B's neighbor's friend really wanted to adopt Lily when he'd first heard about the dog, so we called to see if he was still interested. It was such a relief to find out that he was, and even more so to take her over to his house and find that his home was perfect for this lost little pup.
We got there with her and were greeted by the wife and the two kids. The kids were 10 and 12, a boy and a girl - very, very smart, very, very cute. It turns out the family already had three dogs, and that they just love animals so much... at first, we were a little concerned, but we sat with them and watched how Lily intereacted with the dogs and with the family... that dog was in heaven! The family's other dogs immediately liked her, and they played very friendly, like a little pack - just what Lily really needs. The boy also had said, "She's sleeping in my bed tonight!" So this is a family that has kids who can really spend time with their pets and give them lots of affection. It was cool too, because the kids were involved in taking the other dogs to pet training classes, so they both were really educated about "pack behavior," and about healthy ways to train dogs.
It really felt right, and we feel like we were her "human angels." We saved her from the streets, from the awful heat, we provided a loving foster home to her and found her a perfect permanent home. I didn't even feel broken hearted after we left her with the family that night - just happy for her... so happy. It would have been selfish to try and keep her.
I'll post photos later, but... she's happy and now has a family that she deserves.
M O O D:
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