Dreams

There’s a scene in Steel Magnolias where Shelby describes her dream of getting old, sitting on the back porch, covered in grandchildren.

My husband and I feel that way about dogs.

We do hope to one day be surrounded by grandkids, oodles of them, but that isn’t up to us. Our sons and their partners get to live their lives according to their plans, not ours, and those plans may or may not involve children.

In the meantime (and perhaps, eventually, in addition to), we can surround ourselves with dogs.

Which brings me to Maggie, who joined our pack this week. She’s a middle-aged pup, cute as a button, quite possibly smarter than me, and still full of energy despite being well past her baby days.

Maggie came to the local animal shelter as a stray. She wasn’t microchipped, so they couldn’t immediately locate her owner, but they cleaned her up, treated her for a severe case of fleas, and posted her picture for several days in the hope that she’d be claimed. She wasn’t, and we scooped her up as soon as she was available for adoption.

It’s clear that Maggie’s been cared for in the past. She’s sociable, trusting and well-behaved. I don’t know her story before the shelter or why she ended up in the sad condition she was in, but I’m grateful to whoever loved her before she came to us. If I could give them a message, it would be that she’s in good hands. We will love and care for her for the rest of her life.

Where I live, there’s a limit of three dogs per household. Maggie’s our third, so we won’t be adopting any more. We also want to be sure we have the time and resources to properly care for our pup family, and three is just the right number for us – and for them. Our little pack is complete.

Here’s to getting old, sitting on a porch (or on a couch or a bed or in a backyard), covered in dogs – or whatever it is that brings happy dreams.