Timing ...

fall is the perfect time to remember that it's not the same for everyone.

I don 't rush into things.

While my job requires me to think and react quickly in the midst of chaos, my preferred way of being is one of intentionality and deliberateness.

I don't rush into replacing relationships either ... having spent thousands of dollars on therapy, I'm now a firm believer is letting grief have its way with me and giving myself time to process and truly feel a loss. Which sucks, frankly. It's far easier to cover it up, skim the surface and move on.

Jack, my 8 yr old standard poodle, died in February from an inoperable brain tumor; it's no exaggeration to say I was devastated. He was a GREAT companion and added such joy to my life.
His loss followed on the heels of the deaths of my best friend, Andy and my Mom.
It was a triple threat that packed quite a wallop.

Friends advice to get another dog and move on felt premature.
Others said to just concentrate on Pearl (my 6yr old poodle) and that felt right and was good for both of us. I rarely referred to Jack - mainly because, for so long, I couldn't without crying.

So I was as surprised as anyone when, one month ago, I started browsing different websites for breeders of standard poodles in the Midwest.

The puppies were darling; some of the kennels had very slick advertising and all kinds of promises about the superiority of their 'products'. (Yes, I swear one of them referred to their dogs with exactly that word!)
Needless to say, none of them felt right; none felt like a good fit. (And, after all that therapy, I'm also a believer in trusting my gut!)

Until this crew...

a family that felt just like ours... and it instantly felt like I'd found the folks with puppies that I wanted to go see. You can bet if puppies are raised around 10 kids, (frequently more if they're fostering for the state) of all different skin tones and ages, you can count on them being very well socialized and adaptable!

So, I set a time/date to go see their newest litter - and within 2 hours of confirming the details, I got a call from the specialty vet that diagnosed Jacks tumor, saying their staff had voted Jack "Pet of the Year" and, with my permission, they wanted pictures of him so they could talk about his symptoms and diagnosis at a national symposium of Vets in January.

It felt as if Jack was sending a message.
He HAD been a wonderful Pet - not only of this year - but of all those years he'd been in my life.
It also felt like it was time to finally move on.

After a 7 hour drive and holding all 5 'girls' in the litter, it was really NO contest...

this one felt right - right from the get go.
(Apologizes for the fuzzy pictures, I didn't want to drag my good camera with me and the battery on my point and shoot was dying!

A gorgeous chocolate girl with a spot of white under her chin and on her chest.

"Lizzy" still needs to grow (she's only 3 weeks old) but she'll come home in mid November.

She is, in all likelihood and given my age,  the last puppy I'll ever have, so I've decided to ignore the naysayers (who remind me of all the work, mess, cost etc) and just enjoy the hell out of the experience!

I can't wait.
Glad there's time for giving myself a refresher course...

I think Jack would approve... I'll keep you posted on how Pearl does!!