The New Girl :: Anne McAllister

Sorry I’m a bit late with my post today. I just got back late yesterday from picking up our “new girl.” Thus I didn’t have time last night to write this. 

So . . . meet Sashi.

You may remember two months ago that our dear beloved Micah died quite suddenly. Though he was old, neither we – nor he – expected his departure right then.  But it happened.  And as a result we were crushed – and down to one lonely dog in our house.

There was no thought of going out and finding another one right away. 

Knitting up a hole as big as Micah left in our hearts takes time.  And it still is taking time.

But seeing Mitch looking lonely made us try to knit a bit faster so he could have a friend on site. He has Nancy the cat slayer’s (long story, no she doesn’t kill cats!) dog Mac as a buddy who comes over almost daily. But Mac is a cockapoo with attitude and Mitch finds him entertaining, but . . .

So we went looking for another golden or a flat-coated retriever (it’s taken me five years to be able to even think about that after Gunnar).  And we checked rescue organizations hither and yon, and we checked our local humane society, and we checked untold numbers of places on the internet, and we kept “just missing'” dogs.

No fear, my friend Frankie said. The right dog will appear when the time is right.

And she did. 

She’s five and a half. She is small (about half the size of my big boys). I was astonished she was actually a golden!  She’s laid back – but she can handle Mitch if she needs to. And she rode home yesterday seven hours in the car without batting an eye.  She likes her new home, if her settling in and commandeering the best spot on the couch is anything to go by. 

She likes both Mitch and Mac. And they like her.  It’s taking her some time to get used to the man in the house as she came from a home without one.  But she likes him,, too.  And he thinks she’s very sweet.  He rubs her ears every time he goes past her. I expect she will be following him around as soon as she has figured out that he will do that on a regular basis.  In fact, as I type this, she’s in his office making sure she gets another ear rub.

So, please forgive the late post. And imagine me today, fussing over her – and Mitch – and feeling almost whole again. We do still miss Micah very much. But I had the feeling as I was driving her home yesterday that he was pleased.  He would know that she couldn’t begin to fill his paws, but she does “improve the quality of life around here” – as all goldens do, of course.

Oh, and I got my revision letter even as I was going out the door on Friday to meet her. So now I can get to work shaping Lukas up! Hooray.