Monday Muse

I wasn't gone from blogging -- just gone on vacation! Now, I feel that I need a vacation from the vacation! I left on May 14th, traveling with my friend Sue -- and three dogs between us! We drove from Virginia to Mystic, Connecticut, which is about an 8 hour trip. Two nights there, then a relatively short drive (about 2 hours) to Cape Cod. We rented a very cute house in Dennis, close to Route 6A, for those who are familiar with that area. After a week on the Cape, we drove back to Mystic overnight, then home on Sunday the 24th. It was a good decision to wait a day and travel when traffic was a bit lighter on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend.

I envisioned doing some posts during the trip, but it turned out the internet was down at the house we rented, so that thought went out the window! Last week, try as I might, I couldn't seem to get the time to post. I suppose I should back up and say that the trip almost didn't happen. In the picture is my sweet boy, Dallas! We have been a pair for twelve years, having adopted him after my yellow Lab, Muldoone, passed away. About 3 or 4 when I adopted him, he had been at a no-kill shelter for nearly a year and a half! Now, nearly 16, he has become very arthritic. So, I put him on some medication (Metacam) and it helped for a bit. I needed to add a pain pill, and then right before vacation, I added an injectable medication I was taught to administer called Adequan. I was not certain I would be able to take the trip, but because he responded so well to the medication, I decided we could after all. However, I will admit that the long car rides have set Dallas back a bit and he is recuperating. But, his spirits are excellent and he is now allowing me to help him get up and move about -- something he wouldn't do before. I also have arthritis (rheumatoid) and he is a big dog, so by the end of the day, I am worn out from helping him and everything else I do throughout the course of the day. Much of last week was spent just getting him into a comfortable routine, then crashing -- hence, no blogging.

So, to make a long story short, Dallas serves as the inspiration for today's Monday Muse --

I Think I Know No Finer Things Than Dogs

Though prejudice perhaps my mind befogs,
I think I know no finer thing than dogs;
The young ones, they of gay and bounding heart,
Who lure us in their games to take a part,
Who with mock tragedy their antics cloak,
And, from their wild eyes' tail, admit the joke;
The old ones, with their wistful, fading eyes,
They desire no further paradise
Than the warm comfort of our smile and hand,
Who tune their moods to ours and understand
Each word and gesture, they who lie and wait
to welcome us -- with no rebuke, if late.
Sublime the love they bear; but ask to live
Close to our feet, unrecompensed to give;
Beside which many men seem very logs --
I think I know no finer things than dogs.

--Hally Carrington Brent

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