I am never good about taking time off. Ask Jim. It frustrates him to no end. I have plenty of vacation, so that is not the problem, but I do have problems letting go enough to relax and focus on other matters besides work. I also have problems sitting still. Getting me to go on a road trip, any trip for that matter, can be a challenge, but once I’m committed there is no turning back.
Yesterday, Sophie, our Corgi, and I took off on the road to the San Francisco Bay Area. A couple of female road warriors off in a white truck for a bit of adventure. I was long overdue for a visit with my brother Wayne, his wife, Terri and my niece, MoJo. Funny name for a girl, but to clarify, MoJo is a dog. In case you haven’t noticed our dogs are our kids.
Sophie and I woke up at 3:30 in the morning. I threw on my jeans and sweatshirt, kissed my sleeping husband goodbye, leashed up the girl and headed north. I could have gone the faster route via Interstate 5, but since taking a road trip to the same destination with my husband (our first road trip with Sophie) late last summer, I found I much preferred Highway 101 whichs weaves thru the Central Coast and favorite spots like Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo. It takes a little longer, but to me it is worth it.
I am a native of the Bay Area. Born and raised. Entering the area always conjurs up memories of growing up. Sophie lounged beside me, her head propped contentedly on the arm rest, is the perfect companion. Never demands except for a head scratch. Oh, I forgot about the cookie. She will bark and do dances for a cookie. It shows. She is a bit of a pudge.
I never quite understand how people can give up long – time pets, which was the case with our getting Sophie. As I mentioned in an earlier post, for nearly ten years she was the faithful companion of a man who died of cancer last year. His wife decided she wanted to find a home for Sophie because she got a new puppy. I suspect in part Sophie reminded her too much of what was lost. Sophie was allowed out to play and eat during the day, but at night, while the puppy got to stay indoors, she was put in a crate in the garage. When we got wind of this we didn’t think twice. We took her home with us and threw away the crate. Sophie settled in very nicely with us. It was like she had always been with us. I also liked the fact that she was a girl. Too much testerone in the household. We needed a little balance.
The fact that Sophie was ten did not deter us. We are pretty partial to senior dogs because they are usually the ones who get set aside when things get a bit inconvenient. Having worked at an animal shelter for three years I can also tell you that they are the ones that are harder to adopt, but like any creature they can bring great joy. Jasper was one such dog. I met Jasper for the first time when I went out with an animal control officer to check in on a report of a basset hound tied up to a chain with a wound on his side. When we met Jasper he was such a happy dog despite the open hole on his back-end which resulted from a cyst bursting. I learned that his family was very poor and had no means to take care of him. Jasper also had been chained outside for the last nine years of his life. I fell in love then and would later adopt him. I can assure you he never got tied up again, had full reign of the house and got to sleep on the couch. I figured he earned it. Every time I came home from work, he would be on that couch looking out the window, his tail wagging, his bark delightful, as he greeted me. I had Jasper only two years when an illness took his life, but it was a rich two years.
Jasper was my first experience adopting a senior dog. Sophie is the second. Jim and I call her the Queen. She can set fear in the other dogs if she wants and when in the truck she lets passerbys know not to mess with us girls. A true road warrior.
Leave a Reply