Happy New Year!!! I hope you all made resolutions you don't intend to keep and maybe a couple worth hanging on to. For the past month I have been battling a stupid cold. This is the worst one I have ever had...and yes I did visit with my Dr. about it. Why is it when you have a cold it is like you have a sign on you "please boss me around". I can't tell you how many time I have been told to; "Drink lots of water, take vitamin C, don't take vitamin C, use Zicam, use Musinex, go to bed, and eat chicken soup". "What did your doctor say?" "What does your husband think?" "Are you eating enough chocolate?" OK, OK I made that last one up....wishful thinking. It is getting better but it is taking a long time. I should be better in time for my period to start....Now I have regressed to feeling sorry for myself. And why not? A month is a long time to have a cold.

Tonight I was giving my girl Sage a bath. The water was warm and I was happily sudsing her washing away all that itchy loose hair and dog smell. I glanced at her face and she had a vacant look in her eyes. Sage clearly was not having the fun I was, she had checked out. If your "Happy Place" is the place you take your mind to when you deal with things you would rather not deal with. Sage was there. It made me wonder if I was part of her Happy Place. Tonight I probably wasn't but what about other times. What about when she is in her crate in the van or at the vet, she is fond of neither. Am I part of her Happy Place then? Does she think about the times we snuggled on the couch or laid in the grass together? Does she think about my hands cupping the sleek shape of her head? Does she remember the millions of treats I have shared with her? Does she see the light in my eyes when I watch her? Sage has been part of my life since, well, before she was born, nine years ago. Her mother was a cute little Aussie girl who was at the shelter ready to whelp, I knew that if those pups were going to have any chance they needed to be born somewhere else. Mamma Lucy Blue came home with me and had 5 pups, of which Sage was one. Sage laid on my chest when she was just a puppy potato. We shared breath and heartbeats. She was solid muscle even before she could hear or see. I thrilled when she offered to retrieve almost as soon as she could walk. This was going to be my obedience dog extraordinaire. As much as Sage loved training she hated showing. She retired early and prefers to be a home body. Which suits me fine, I love having her here. Now days Sage has very little stress in her life. But maybe she goes to her Happy Place just to relax, like I do. I hope I am in her Happy Place, she certainly is in mine.

Photo by Ingrid Rosenquist - Pyscht Photography