Relief From Grief

Some will say that to get a new pet so soon after the loss of one, a person is merely reacting to the grief. I would disagree.

On Friday, after 4 days filled with unspeakable pain, I brought home the newest member of our family. Harley is an 11 month old King Shepherd/Border Collie cross, a very friendly neutered male who is filled with love and affection.

Harley (whose name both Ben and I dislike - I don't think we should rename him, but Ben disagrees) is gentle with Delilah, gets along well with other dogs, and knows his basic commands. He can sit and stay, although distractions are a difficulty at this point, shake a paw (both sides), lay down, and fetch. Releasing the fetched object is a little bit of a tough one right now, but we're working on it.

We got Harley from a guy (Jason) who has recently separated from his wife-when they split, she moved to an apartment and he kept Harley. Unfortunately, Jason works a lot and didn't feel he had the time that Harley needs, so he posted an ad to Kijiji on Thursday, looking for a new home for Harley. Friends of ours forwarded me the link, I responded, and we made arrangements to meet the next day. The rest is history.

I'm still sad about Tyler, but Harley has helped me start to heal. He distracts me, makes me laugh with his antics and youthfulness. He's a big lug and so eager to please. He's very good looking on top of it. That doesn't hurt.

We went to the dog park late this afternoon. It was FREEZING, very windy and snowing. Delilah, the only one who stayed warm, was in the carrier under 3 layers and fell asleep against my chest. We watched Harley interact with several other dogs. He is fairly submissive but not timid, and he played with all the other dogs there, at one point or other. When we got home he went straight to his new cedar-filled bed and crashed. He's been there ever since! Tired puppy. We'll likely be going most days, hopefully it warms up soon!

I will post pics of Harley as soon as I am able. All the pics we've taken since he got here are still on the camera, beside the pics we took of Tyler in her last few days. When I can bear looking at them I will upload them all to the laptop and publish them.

Thanks to all who expressed their condolences and offered support.