Thankful and then some!

It isn't quite Thanksgiving Day yet but it's always a good time to count blessings. Putting it off is like saving the good china or linen for special occasions and never enjoying its beauty. Not that I have good china or linens! My idea of a fun day is a session of puppy therapy. :) Now that's easier to do if you happen to have a young puppy - and I do. My older dogs are coping. One mostly ignores the pup and the other asks to go outside after he's had enough playing in the house.

The little one is fearless. They try to control her with reprimands and she continues to bedevil them. You'd think she didn't understand but I know she does. She simply thinks they are being ridiculous and that the world belongs to her. Around here, it sort of does.

 

I named her "Hope" without realizing what my human reprimands would sound like. I should have called her Problem or Trouble. Then, instead of shouting, "No Hope," when she makes a mistake, I could be saying, "No Problem" or "No Trouble." No Hope sounds too prophetic!

 

Deciding to add another critter to my household took a lot of thought and much research on the internet. I had been hoping to rescue a lap-size dog and did an extensive search with little success. So, I started considering puppies despite the fact that they are more trouble.

 

I mean, look at that face. How angelic. How cute. And how intelligent and mischievous! I have used a particular, heavy plastic dog food container for 7 dogs. It sits in the kitchen. Has a hinged lid. Much bigger dogs have left it alone unless I opened it. Not Hope. She's already trying to help herself! And at the table? The older, sedate dogs learned long ago that making a fuss will not get you anywhere, so they wait quietly until I am through eating, clearly hoping for table scraps. They have taught each other through the generations and this one is no different. I looked down and there they sat.

 

It was as if Hope realized immediately what was proper kitchen protocol. I could imagine her asking, "Are you sure this will get us some food?" and Booboo answering, "Just sit there and look cute, kid. Trust me. She'll weaken soon." He was right.

 

My long time love of dogs and years of experience have given me a strong base on which to build my own stories for Love Inspired Suspense as well as participating in the ongoing K-9 continuities with other authors. My next working K-9 will be in BOUND BY DUTY, the story of a Rottweiler assigned to the US Air Force. It's #2 in the series that begins in April of 2018.

 

There is no way I can ever make little Hope a working K-9 unless I use her as a therapy dog. Maybe I will. In the meantime, she can give me private chill-out sessions so I can continue to write without getting too tense. Despite the fact that I love to write Christian fiction, it's still hard work. And I wouldn't trade my job for any other.

 

So, go count your blessings. They are all around us.

Valerie Hansen