For most of our married life, we have had dogs.  When our last one had to be put down, at over 14 years of age, we decided against getting another one. That was a few years ago now.  Even though we did not want another dog, we enjoyed the three ‘granddogs’ in the family enormously. Our son kept the family tradition of Golden Retrievers going, while our daughter chose a chocolate Labrador.

The Lab, named Koko  was mischief and trouble rolled into one, when she was a puppy, but we fell in love with her when she arrived in Queensland from Melbourne for an extended holiday as an older dog.  It was strange how much we missed her when she went home again. 

A month or two later, I was in Melbourne, and on a mission with my youngest granddaughter  to buy a hermit crab.  Mission unsuccessful! It was so cold, we could not tell if the hermit crabs were alive or dead, as they refused to leave their shells. We wandered around the pet shop and lo and behold- there was a puppy exactly the same as Koko, a gorgeous, cuddly chocolate Labrador! I was smitten, and rang my husband to determine the ‘lay of the land’. The land was mine field territory, so I left well alone, and when my daughter came back with me to look at the puppy again, she looked at me in disbelief and said,’How can you not take her?’  That was that, and I flew home a few days later and got on with life as usual.

A week or so later my daughter rang and said, “Mum, we’ve got a problem.”  Used to problem solving as I was, I asked her to elaborate.  “The puppy wants to know when you are bringing her home. She has had enough of being in the pet shop.”

Well, they say animals choose you and I think it is true.   The rest is history.  The puppy did come ‘home’ with her older sister Koko, on her next visit north, and we welcomed Poppy into the family. 

I had forgotten how much fun a dog can be.  Apart from puppy antics, (and lots of puddles to mop up) we have enjoyed the huge wags of the tail, the gusto with which she eats her food (or convulses it) and her effusive welcomes when we get home. She is a real ‘girl’ and loves body lotion -not applying it, but licking it off my legs and feet if she can. She makes us laugh so often and is an example of an animal that hugely enjoys life.  Thunderstorms? No problem! Fireworks? Wow! Car trips? Try and stop me coming! Plane trips? Just make sure I’ve got a big bone… A day in the Boat? Can I jump out now and swim?  Nothing seems to phase her, and she has contributed to our lives in other ways too.  Long walks, games of Tug and Fetch have seen us losing weight and gaining fitness. We also talk to other dog owners and have got to know our community better. There is nothing like a “Dog Mat” lying asleep at your feet while you relax in a chair at the end of a busy day.  Somehow it feels right to have an animal around us again and as young as she is, she has enriched our lives enormously. She does not worry about yesterday.  She does not worry about tomorrow. She knows she is loved, will be fed, patted, brushed and walked each day, and that is enough.  For us she has been a great example of living a simpler life with gusto.