Day 466

These two pups adore each other beyond measure. Gus and Sam play hard, but love just as hard! Gus, who is two now, is our guy without sight in one eye. He adapts quite well, but tends to run into things now and then. Sam is not alone in cleaning the injured eye on a daily basis...Lilly and Ranger are also on duty.

It is a marvel to watch the Golden pack look out for each other. Two mornings ago, Sam must have slept on his paw the wrong way and came out of his kennel whimpering and crying. He actually let out a pitiful yelp when he jumped up on the bed. The other three were right there to sniff, lick and show support. I almost had the sense that they might just protect him if it came to that!

Humans display the same protective qualities when it comes to our own "pack" or family. Tonight, daughter Katie and I took a dusk walk with Asher in his motorized jeep. We both noticed a truck parked by the driveway with a person at the wheel. After the younger generations were tucked in, I still had some dog walking to attend to. The truck had moved across the street, but the driver was still present.

On my last walk with Lilly, I sauntered along the boulevard to give my Golden Girl some sniffing time. The window of the truck was open and I glanced once again. This time, the driver leaned out the window and the conversation went something like this...

Driver: "I'm not bothering you by sitting here am I?"

Me: "No, not at all. Are you OK?"

Driver: "Yes Ma'am! I am waiting for my son to be done with football practice." (This said with great pride!)

Me: "You have a son on the Anoka team? That's wonderful!"

Driver: "We are pretty excited about it"

Me: "Does he have a number yet?"

Driver: "No...maybe tomorrow at the scrimmage."

Me: "Would you feel comfortable giving me his name so we can cheer for him?"

With pride, the father/driver offered me the last name. We will be sure to cheer his son from our front porch on football nights!

The message for me was clear. Not only do we take care of those people in our pack and protect them without questioning, but we must be aware that others have their own pack as well. When we were wondering about the stranger in the truck, he was simply out there to protect his own pack. What a lovely turn of events!

Now it is time to grab my Goldens and make sure they are all doing well and start the parade to bed. At the Big White House, our pack includes two and four-legged members alike. I wouldn't have it any other way!