January 15, 2014

White Dog and The White Dog Army
Wonderful World Wednesday
White Dog, Puff, YoYoMa, Oso, Taiko and Bella can evoke a special magic that any family with a pack of their own or a clowder of cats has probably witnessed as well. There is no feeling that compares to the simple joy of being in a room, all together, with all of the four-leggeds peacefully arrayed around you.

The serenity of being surrounded by their collective calm and total relaxation is pure bliss. It feels safe, secure and totally outside of the rest of the world's noisy issues. I find myself not wanting to move lest some pup be disturbed and stir.

Tonight after dinner it was just the WDA and me. Puff was settled on the hearth where YoYoMa laid down next to her, curved together fur-to-fur. Bella, braver by the day, snuggled on the floor at my feet on the afghan's edge. Oso snored gently on my chest and White Dog was at her place on the arm of my chair, her face nestled into my neck. Taiko lay in the middle of the room positioned to be the first to greet Steve.

In short order all of the WDA were napping. The rise and fall of each chest was a ballet of peace and their slowed regular breathing added together to become a lyrical orchestra. It soothed and mesmerized. The rest of the world was quiet and disappeared. I just sat and soaked in the experience.

Things have been a bit out of control lately and this interlude was a gift. I felt like Dorothy in the final scene in the Wizard of Oz, when she says, "Home! And this is my room -- and you're all here! And I'm not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And -- Oh, Auntie Em -- there's no place like home!"

It is a wonderful world...sometimes you need look no further than your own front room to see it.