Musings about things (a bit sad)

I wander around a LOT of blogs...which seriously cuts into my reading time, lol.  Somewhere, I recently ran into an app that had fishes swimming around in the little box that you could move your cursor over and click to feed them.  It was strangely entertaining...but what a time waster...and, silly me, I followed the link and discovered that this is something you can do on your google page (which I was startled to realize that I had)...AND they had a virtual dog!

The rest is a little sad so continue reading at your own risk!

My beloved dog has been gone more than three years and I still choke up thinking about her because I had the privilege of being able to take her to work with me every day so we were pretty much together almost all of the time, except when we went to L.A. because she didn't especially like traveling in the car.  She was really well-trained except for her love of people, we could not break her of her habit of giving kisses and resting her front paws on people but she played a mean game of kibble hockey, was ambidextrous in which paw she would shake with (giggle), curled up in cat beds or laps very comfortably despite her relatively long legs, and obeyed multiple commands...including 'back up'!  Ok, so everyone gushes about their furbaby and thinks they have the best one but of course I think mine was fantastic.  If you visit my Goodreads page, her picture is the one I use for my profile.

Anyway, our hearts have been too sore to find a new furperson but for awhile, I assuaged my grief by interacting with the dog that lived next door.  We share a wooden fence with our neighbors on one side and there is a hole in it about 2 feet off of the ground...perfect for sticking my hand through and petting or sneaking small treats (shh, don't tell) and, if I neglected to acknowledge her...she made sure to whine at me and let me know that she knew I was outside and she wanted attention.  I felt badly for her when a new smaller dog was added to the household because she lost her favored status but she still kept her good-natured attitude and we communed many times to our mutual benefit.

It has taken me a little while to write about her because some idiot on our quiet neighborhood street was driving too fast a couple of weeks ago and my fence buddy was out in the street at the wrong time...my only solace is that she died quickly and without much apparent trauma.  It does no good to repeat how often I told the neighbors that she should not be allowed outside her yard without a leash but my life is emptier without her following me along the fence line and trying to race me to 'our' hole.  So, I remind you to please keep your dogs on leashes when they are outside of their enclosed yards.

I am particularly melancholy tonight because one of my friends had to say goodbye to her beloved cat today and I am reminded how short our pets' lives are in comparison to our own...but their hearts are big enough to match the love that we give them so they enrich our lives with their presence.

Anyway, now that I have depressed everyone, I have to say that it is fun to play with the virtual dog on iGoogle...even though apparently these apps will disappear later this year.  So, I am going to go toss a ball for it and entertain myself by adjusting the colors and playing with the buttons.  Don't forget to hug your furry children and give them a safe place to live.