Mabel Finds A Home

Today Mabel found herself a "forever home."

When Ashley said that a couple wanted to come and look at her, I knew that they'd take her. The guy heads up the police K9 unit and they have a 9 year old border collie and it sounded like the perfect place for her.

We had the best night ever for our last night together. She went to sleep on my feet and slept until 6, when she crawled up to my chest and rolled over for tummy rubs. We lay like there for a long while. I was reluctant to actually get up (which would wake the other dogs) and was enjoying this quiet time with Mabel. But eventually she wanted to get down, so the day started.

I took some video of her, starting when I found her lying out in the sun with Sheila. Just hangin' out together, the two dogs. (Mabel has no concept of size).

What I didn't do was set up the camera to take a video of her first bath. Ho-hum who needs another puppy bath video? Her paws were dingy from so much time in the soft dirt but I decided I didn't need to film it. Wrong! Mabel is the first puppy to have discovered that to get OUT of the sink she could aim for the window sill. I had a real fight on my hands to keep her in the sink long enough to clean her feet and rinse the shampoo off of her. I was soaked by the time she was ready to get out of the sink. I'm sure it was a lot more fun watching than it was doing it, but, alas, I didn't think ahead.

She had a nice long nap and I thought I would have to wake her up, but when I got out of my office, she heard me and came running. I put her in my lap and just had a last quiet moment for about 10-15 minutes. Like all the puppies, we had bonded well and I fell in love with her, but I also know that I can't keep them no matter how much I love them. There was a loving family at Petco waiting to meet her.

I never did get the name of the people, but they asked all the right questions, she wagged her tail and licked them. Ashley suggested they take her over to a grassy area and talk it over, so they did. Walt and I sat at Petco and watched. Then I went inside to get treats for Sheila and Lizzie while the couple talked with Kim about business and the Mabel nuzzled up against the guy's neck.

Finally, it was time to tell her goodbye and leave her to her new family. I asked if they minded if I took their picture, which I did and Walt and I headed off to Safeway to do some shopping.
When we came home, the guy was there with Mabel on a leash. Mabel saw me and ran right over to me. I scooped her up, gave her one last hug and then put her down again and got into the car.

Another one come and gone. Another hole in my heart. There will be more.