I went to the cottage on Lake Huron last week, because big water always soothes me. My plan was to sit on the beach and cry as necessary, and I followed it for a day. Then Gayle pointed out that I'd been grieving for William all summer, and I'm not getting any younger . . . and she had made a lot of phone calls to locate a Border Collie for me to meet.
So we drove to the Traverse City area, found the sheep farm, and I met him. And that was that. Yes, I fell for him.
Drew is an unusual Border Collie in two ways: he prefers hanging out with people over moving sheep around, and he is actually laid-back. Well, in Border Collie terms, he is. Not desirable characteristics for a working stock dog, but great ones for a companion!
It took him about 24 hours to decide that I belong to him. His favorite place to sleep is beside my bed, and the first couple of nights he had to wake me up to pet him two or three times, just to be sure that location was all right. His favorite daytime place is under my desk, where he can put his head on my legs while I work online. He likes to read with me, as long as I keep one hand on him. Sometimes he noses my second hand onto his head as well. This makes for some difficulty turning pages, but I can't say that I really object!
We are going to have lots of fun.