We Remember...

 

 
It was a year ago that we parted ways with an important member of our family. Winston was our first dog. And although we have added another to our home, our wonderful dog Maggie, there will never be another soul like Winston.

We were blessed to have "Winnie" in our lives for 15 years. And while he caused us grief with his separation anxiety, (once chewing up every single cord to our computer during a thunderstorm), the hole that exists when he left us can never be truly filled.

Those of us without children have been accused of using our pets as child substitutes; recepticles for receiving the love that we need to give to others. That's probably true, at least in our home. While I don't know what it's like to experience the intense, gut-wrenching love for one's child, I do know the love that I felt for this dog.

Life goes on, but we miss our dear friend. In Winston's memory, we have donated food and toys to Old Dog Haven (http://www.whidbey.com/mvg/OldDog/) a wonderful place where elderly dogs can live out their last days in peace and love. So many of these dogs are given up by their families and are very hard to adopt out. If you have room in your life, they can offer such wonderful companionship. This group is currently working on getting nonprofit status, but in the meantime they could really use donations, foster homes, and/or families to take some of these wonderful pets. Can you help them out in some way?