Pay It Forward and Puppy Kisses

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~ Ben Williams

In this post of Groovy's, I was insane enough to sign up for a Pay It Forward gift!

It's a really neat and simple concept:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 2 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. The only thing you have to do in return is Pay it Forward by making the same promise on your blog. I have absolutely NO IDEA what the craft I send will be, but I can be pretty crafty when I set my mind to it. So, if it sounds like as neat an idea to you as it did to me, get busy - comment and then PAY IT FORWARD!

Kay?

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DH and I decided the house was too empty without our darling Bailey. So, look what we found:



You see, I was sitting around, bored, nothing to do... and I thought: I know! I can fill all this spare time making crafts for a Pay It Forward giveaway and potty training a new puppy!

I all seriousness, I have to say: Finding the pup (whose name is Dakota), was a blessing. We decided we really wanted a dog similar to Bailey, because she was such a stellar critter in temperament and brains. She was a Golden Retriever/Gordon Setter mix. We didn't want something that looked like her, though. Too painful, as we still burst into tears at the drop of a hat.

I looked online for Golden/Setter and found a lady about 50 miles from here who had a litter of Golden Retriever/Irish Setter puppies that were just ready to find their forever homes.

Incidentally, I've always been a proponent of Pound Puppies. Bailey was a pound pup. BUT, apparently the northeast is right on top of the whole spay/neuter thing, because there were no puppies in any shelter locally. I looked in NH, Northern MA, VT and ME. Additionally, most shelters won't adopt a puppy out to you if you don't have a fenced in yard (we don't) or an invisible fence (we don't). We would have failed the application process in more ways than one. And, yet, we manage to raise happy, healthy, spoiled dogs... go figure.

In any case, Darling Dakota has filled a bit of a void. She's a LOT of work, but very smart. She's catching on to potty training like a champ. She and the cat are slowly working things out. She's learning to let go of her fixation on my slippers. And, best of all, the DH and DD have a critter to play with and cuddle with again.

I still miss Bailey, though. God messed up: Dogs should have a longer life span.

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It's snowing here, and we have about 4 inches on the ground thus far. The worst, tho, is still to come: Wind. That's what will knock out our power if it's going to happen (fingers crossed it won't). Still, thus far, it hasn't been as bad as they thought. I hope that keeps up!

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Your Expression Number is 7

Very intelligent, you are usually thinking, introspecting, or analyzing. You have a good mind, and you are especially good at finding out the truth. Very little ever escapes your observation and deep understanding. You tend to obsess over wisdom and hidden truths. You are likely to become a authority on any subject you undertake. Operating on a different wavelength, most people don't know you that well. Very logical and rational, at times you tend to lack emotion. So much so, that you often have times coping with emotional situations. You are not very adaptable - you may tend to be overly critical at times.

What's Your Expression Number?