Meet my grand-dog, Opie. He's my son, Garrett's, 45 pound bundle of energy. When Garrett first told me he'd adopted a dog, I was very happy for him to have a companion & watch dog (although I'm not sure how vicious Opie would be with an intruder, unless leaping up and gumming them would be considered a defensive move).
As any other mom can attest, we worry about our kids from the moment they are conceived. We DO worry less when they grow up about day-to-day things simply because we don't know exactly where they are & what they are doing 24/7. But we NEVER stop worrying completely. That being said, when our kids grow up & we can "check off the boxes" we get a little more comfortable:
Graduate high school-CHECK
Graduate college-good job-CHECK
Find a Mate-CHECK, CHECK.
Garrett had 2 out of 3, but at that point in his life I knew he hadn't found his lifetime mate. Although he had some really close, lifelong friends, I just couldn't completely check off that final box. So, when he got Opie it did make me feel a little better. What better companion than a dog? They're loyal, protective & true.
My one main concern, however, was that he'd need grandparent dog-sitters every time he wanted to travel (which is a LOT). He is somewhat of a vagabond and has friends all over the country & in Europe. Someone only needs to say "go" and he's ready. However, a 45 pound dog isn't exactly something you can pack into your carry-on. If you know me, you'd know that would be NO PROBLEM for me. I'd have every dog in my house in the bed with me at night....but my husband, Gary, is somewhat of a curmudgeon and he has a strict NO BIG DOG in house policy. Opie lives inside at Garrett's house & I was concerned about how he'd do crated in the garage with our big dog, Gus.
Turns out, all of this worrying was for nothing because Gary is Opie's biggest fan. Opie is one of God's happy-go-lucky creatures who is content whatever he's doing. He's very obedient & has a very sweet disposition. In fact, one of our favorite things to do when we are keeping him is to sit out in the backyard just to watch him run around. It's almost as if he has a song playing in his head at all times.
Just one more thing in this life I'm thankful for. Grand-dogs, who knew?
Take good care,
Cindy
