The 'need' for a dog

They say that you don't necessarily get the dog you want but the dog you need. Dogs have a way of making it known who needs them the most. Whether it's that pup that sits on your lap for hours comforting the broken soul or spins in circles for hours teaching you what you need to learn the most, to find a smile or to find your inner child again. Oftentimes to us the clearest path is hazy and boggling. Patience is far behind you as a frenzy of energy whips up in every corner. You question your moves, your tactics, your methods you carefully laid out in front of you in calculated steps. Eyes lay upon you at the perfect moment when you know you need to alter your view on life. This is an adventure they say and you shift.. almost instantly. The next moment they have your ankle in their shark grip making you once again question whether you should feed them their next meal or send yourself to timeout.

The sunshine finds a crack in your window to seep through in the middle of winter but then you realize the brightest sunshine is right in front of you as it peeks around the corner with its soulful eyes asking for your forgiveness for the plant they ate that you don't know about quite yet. I'll give you a minute. You need me. You question the need and go back to the want. You want it all but you need this bundle of 4 legged fuzz the most, or so they say. You just lose sight for a minute..for a long minute. Where is this 'bliss' that is the result of this silent conversation that I'm told takes place? Patience is tested. I'm sorry. I'll be better. You need me. The tail twitches, turns to a thump and moves into a full blown wag as it sends you a laugh through the only movement it knows. It works. Shoot. Yah. You shift. Dogs are our link to what we need the most. This? Yes. I shift a little more. How is this magic that my new pup has brought so effective, so incredibly quick to help me grasp the reality of where I'm at vs. where I need to go. I question. I shift yet again. This is a need? The eyes tell me without even trying. The pup tries and my heart is full with it's trying alone. I need to be more. I want to be more. He licks my face and I know my want and my need for this new companion is intertwined, somewhere between heaven and earth, understanding and terribly foggy. I feel our hearts colliding. Is that possible? So quick, so fast.

Patience is a skill my dog tells me I possess, somewhere deep down as I am having a hard time locating it as I find the plant that recently got tipped over and chewed in a million different places. Passion for discovery he says as he glances over his shoulder. But it was my Philodendron! A memory made in a happy home he conveys. Oh there's that magic again. That desire to find that inner child, that want to do more for him...for me. I pick up a handful of dirt from the pot that just got tipped over in 'passion to discover' and throw it in my dog's direction. He jumps up and barks chasing the 'discovery'. It's 'just a dog' they say, well it's obvious they have never owned a dog. My dog that I very much wanted but never knew I needed to this degree, in this way at least, is the exact dog I need. They always know. That's the magic of a dog.

As I do my own shifting this week thinking of all the magic that is taking place for others I dive into what's here in front of me now and what my own dogs bring me in ways I never knew I needed. They do it all the time. They show me skills like, to take a minute to put my face into the sun to slow down just for a moment. 'But weren't you just busting past me just a second ago in a crazy flight to talk to the squirrel on the other side of the fence?' yes but it was important and that conversation couldn't wait Sola says. ha she's schooled me once again. I'm not surprised really.

I'll shift a bit and fill you in on the antics that have been flying around here this week even though for many it's probably not exactly the news you were waiting for. No, no shifting as of yet towards pups... well not quite yet anyway. The energy has been high, hormonal and tricky between the girls. Showing me again what I know I need but not necessarily wanting. They bring a balance even though touchy at times. Short on nerves, fuzzy around patience is what we call it. ok girls I'm all in. You know I'm always all in. You can tell by their... active behaviors, things are shifting, hormones are changing and time for new beginnings are very near.

Time for hearts to start to mend, new stories to be had and new homes to fill full of 4 legged love. We connect with Silas once again on video chat...yes the girls video chat with their boyfriend...if you had a boyfriend, wouldn't you do the same?! He sends his love to them all and is a little too excited to hear that Isla passed all her testing and is joining in on the fun, I mean the program. Silas! Meiko gleams her famous smile and it's more than enough to send him flying around the yard. Sola is eager to see him again as they make the perfect pair and I'm sure will bring us a whole bushel of gorgeous babes this go round.

The air turned cold this week and brought a few inches of snow, which was a pleasant surprise for all. Munching on ice shards in water buckets is a favorite. Chewing on snowy ice chunks is also a fun game. Leaping for snowballs and trying to catch a bunch of snow as it's kicked up into the air also brings endless entertainment. It lasted most of the week, leaving only a lone giant snowball in the middle of the yard that my girls made.

Almost like clockwork, right after the snow melted away, coats started to shed. Like cattails in a marsh releasing their seeds in the most unique way, my dogs puffed up very similar to this as the weather opened up. Fuzz everywhere as I run my rake over a dog as they run past not clueing in who it was that just buzzed past me.

I gather big clumps of fur and throw it into the nearby trees and branches. The birds come almost immediately. Each one picks it up to stuff into their nests to make them extra cozy for their upcoming babies. Happy to help. Sola's coat is endless, Meiko combs out lovely, Isla's coat is crazy impressive and Leia still has length to come in but is gorgeous. My rake will stay busy this week.

As I support and back up my 'Reindeer' Families, I look ahead to what's in store. I'm just as eager as many of you are in getting more beautiful Sola pups out into this world. If she delays this process any longer, Meiko will be joining in on the 'cycling fun' here soon. Isla and Leia are also in this window right now but they won't bring us pups until later this year. The longer these girls live together and mature the higher the chance is that they sync up. Now even though they didn't sync up last time, I have to do everything in my preparing mind to set myself up to have a double litter, if this so happens. I'm looking over my words above and as I read, 'they always give us what we need not always what we want' I am starting to doubt this belief, just a touch, just for a moment though. Isn't that the point of what I have stated. Oh goodness, I'm not sure now. Double the pups, double the fun?! Oh gracious, give me strength! I look further down the road at what I have so carefully set up for myself here. So calculated and sure. So much thought, time and effort poured into building up my program over the years. I look at Isla and her successes at what she's passed and what she is to bring us here. Her coat is surpassing any of the other dogs. Feathering beyond what I thought possible, honey coloring to die for, and structure to stop you in your tracks. Her pups are going to be phenomenal.

Leia thick as a brick, wide and broad like more like Sola. A head to gawk at, width to be proud of and the sweetest calmest demeanor ever. Her pups also are ones that are going to steal the show. I'm stopped in my tracks each and every time Sola shows off her backend and how I know Leia is following in her footsteps.

It's going to be a busy year ahead full of patience being tested, sleep being depleted, miles on the road to be had but oh so many stories to be started. I'm so looking forward to seeing what these dogs have in store for me. Needs to be balanced with desire and each and every moment being filled with moments I didn't know I needed but wanted all along.

I thank all of you for the amazing reviews and testimonials that have poured in this week. All the sweet words and darling updated pictures that I add to my testimonial page are priceless. The stories of gratitude, the tales of success and the moments of happiness in these reviews are what makes all the sleepless nights, challenges, chaos and back to back days just a moment in time for me. It's all worth it 110% over to help create these stories for new families. It was an amazing honor to be part of so many great moments for so many great people this past litter. As I look forward to this crazy wonderful year ahead and all that I know it'll bring, I welcome it all with open arms, some extra coffee and a dash more patience.

I want all the moments I know it'll bring, I need all the craziness it possesses because I know it's this beautiful balance between work and simply joy that tie desire into need. Passion levels out the craziness around here. I can't wait to fill more homes this summer with the start of new stories. I thank you all for letting me be a part of your journey and opening up this path ahead to welcome new life into your hearts and homes.

Now, let me go have a chat with my girls to let them know that we have many eager families waiting for them to shift! Soon, it will be soon.