Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Ain't no Sunshine when she's gone

As you can see from the sidebar, Sunshine has gone to her forever home. Like all of our fosters, she pranced out the door and into her new owners' vehicle without looking back. Not so much as a "Thanks for saving my life" or "I swear I'll send a postcard."

After all, these people had biscuits.

I think our fosters can sense that the people who take them away from our home are The Real Thing, that the dogs somehow understand that we're just a layover on the journey to true love.

Anyway, we'll miss Sunshine. She's a real Dog-dog, if you know what I mean. Uncomplicated, glad to see you no matter what, wants nothing more than in life than a good belly rub.

She thought everything we did was wonderful. I'd get up from the chair to get a glass of water, and she'd give me a standing ovation. As Meadow barely opens her eyes, and Brutus gets this, "Now what's happening? Should I worry?" look, Sunshine would wag her tail, curve her head around, and follow on my heels with an attitude that said:
You stood up! You're the greatest! Do that again, you magnificent human!
When I was despondent over my agent not returning my e-mails (which turned out to be a technical problem with their server), only Sunshine was there to listen to me moan. When I shed tears over the death of a friend's dog, only Sunshine gave me a furry shoulder to cry on. The other two were like, "Got my own problems. When's dinner?"

All in all, I prefer calmer, more independent dogs, ones that don't turn a trip across the room into a ticker tape parade. But there was something about Sunshine's blithe spirit that will always make me smile when I think of her.

Her new family is perfect for her. The kids want to get her involved in pet therapy, maybe Pets on Wheels or a "Read to Rover"-type program. She would love that. She has such a giving spirit that asks nothing in return but love and attention (and biscuits don't hurt).

So now this poor dog whose previous owners wouldn't pay her "Get-Out-of-Jail" fee, who could have been one of the millions of unwanted animals euthanized alone in a shelter, has a second chance at a wonderful life. That's a happy ending.

Labels:

3 Comments:

Congratulations, Sunshine! And to you for the great job you did with her, and all your animals.

Cecilia

Posted by: Anonymous Anonymous at 4/04/2006 6:18 PM

ones that don't turn a trip across the room into a ticker tape parade

*howls and howls with laughter* That describes my dog to a T. Furthermore, she's a COMPLETE weenie, despite being an 80 pound dog, so whenever the doorbell rings there's a lot of barking and then she runs to hide behind whichever of us goes to answer the door. Wriggling all the time. :)

Posted by: Blogger CE Murphy at 4/06/2006 8:37 AM

Hey, Catie, welcome to the blog! Sounds like your dog is great company for you during those long days of writing.

Posted by: Blogger Jeri at 4/06/2006 8:52 AM

Post a Comment

NEW RELEASE!

This Side of Salvation

This Side of Salvation, Jeri's new contemporary YA novel!

Now available in hardcover and ebook.

“A smart, well-rounded, and unpredictable tale...bringing to light issues of belief versus free will, spirit versus body, and family versus self.” —Booklist, **Starred Review**

More about THIS SIDE OF SALVATION

Order from Indie Bound, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.com.

NOW AVAILABLE!

Shattered

"Shattered," a Shade novella!

Available here on this website as a free download in all major ebook formats, as well as a printable PDF (now with photos!).

More about "Shattered"

About the author

Jeri Smith-Ready

Jeri Smith-Ready is a Maryland author of books for teens and adults.

Learn more about Jeri...

Photo © Geoffrey C. Baker

Sign up for Jeri's newsletter

  • First draft of secret new project

Current Reads


goodreads.com