I is for Ice Cubes

In the last days of her life, our dog Isabel did not have much of an appetite. Late at night I would wake to the restless smacking of her dry mouth. What could I do but go down to the kitchen and break up some ice cubes for her? She sighed gratefully each time I placed the small bowl of ice chips in front of her and quietly lapped them up before slipping off to sleep. I was happy I could comfort her like that.

These days Lucy spends the early mornings in the kitchen with me. She chews and plays happily while I eat my breakfast and pack lunch. Every now and then, when I fill my water bottle, an ice cube might fall to the floor. The puppy scampers over and grabs it like a treat. I can tell she loves it, and that makes me happy, too.

Life Lesson: If you have the power to make someone else happy, do it; the world needs more of that.

H is for Hero, Super

"What's the cutest thing your puppy does right now?" another teacher asked me recently.

The question alone brought a smile to my face. Unlike so many conversational inquiries, such as What's your specialty? when folks find out I'm a former chef, or What's the best place you've been? when it comes up that I have been lucky enough to live overseas and travel a bit, this one was easy.

"Our living room is one step down from the dining room," I began, "and when Lucy runs in, she jumps straight over the edge with both paws out like she's flying. It's adorable and hilarious all at once!"

Life Lesson: Who hasn't dreamed they could fly?

G is for Great Falls

Exercise, Discipline, Affection

So goes the mantra of Cesar Millan, also known as the "Dog Whisperer".

I thought of Cesar this morning as we took Lucy for her first hike. We chose a favorite place, Great Falls National Park, for the occasion, knowing she would get plenty of exercise and assuming that walking on the leash would take discipline. Oh, but it was affection that won the day! As we made our way along the Matildaville Trail, through the secret meadow, and back along the River Trail every hiker we passed wanted to stop and pet and the puppy. And that was fine-- as long as she sat first!

Life Lesson: A tired puppy is a good puppy!

F is for 'fer'

Even as we drove up I-95 to Pennsylvania on the way to meet our puppy, we were not sure of what her name would be.

Cricket?

Jelly Bean?

Buttercup?

Millie?

Ingrid?

Ginger?

Pepper?

The list went on, but as rain pounded on the windshield, nothing seemed exactly right. "I think we'll know when we meet her," I finally said, and we traveled on in silence over the Susquehanna, through Port Deposit, and past the Conowingo Dam. The sky cleared and a bald eagle flew over us. Finally we pulled into the driveway of neat brick home. Goats were staked on a green hill in the back, and across the street freshly plowed fields rolled into the distance. Ahead of us 3 Amish boys chased four red puppies across the grass. One of them was ours.

Once we were back in the car, I looked at the tiny dog, and she looked right back at me. "I think her name is 'Lucy'," I said, and Lucy it was.

Lucy after another famous red-headed Lucy; Lucy because the name means light, and soon we found it was Lucy, because you can add 'fer' to it, and capture her naughty side perfectly.

Life Lesson: Would a rose by any other name really smell as sweet?

E is for Ears

When we picked the puppy up from the family who bred her we loved her caramel coat, but we wondered what shade she would be when she was grown. "Look at the ears," Amos Fisher said. "They say that will be her final color."

And I have looked at her ears every single day. It's not just their color, I also love the way they flop around her neck, and how she sighs when I rub them. And the way they feel--

Is it velvety? Soft as silk? Like ripe peaches, or the minutes before sunrise? Are they a perfect custard, down pillows, dandelion and milkweed seeds floating through the warm blue sky, fine sand at the bottom of the ocean in August? Or carrot purée? Maybe they are a bubble bath, a baby's breath, hot cocoa, warm gingerbread, or melted butter.

What simile or metaphor describes my puppy's ears best?

Life Lesson: There's nothing like the real thing.

D is for Dog Days

I recently heard someone refer to an event last year as part of the "Obama Era." How far away that makes his presidency sound; how traumatic it has been to pass from that era to this fraught time.

I suppose, by extension, that last year also saw the end of the "Isabel Era" for us... writing that now makes her loss seem so final, and still so sad after all these months of doglessness.

And yet? Losing Isabel has ushered us into the "Age of Lucy," and who knows what wonders await us in the years ahead?

Life Lesson: When one door closes, another opens.

C is for Crazy Time

There is an hour of every day, sometime between dinner and bedtime, usually right around dusk, when the youngest of creatures

lose

their

minds.

Maybe it's to get rid of any extra energy that might tempt them to leave the safety of their dens, nests, or cradles in the dark and dangerous night, or perhaps it's just a spontaneous celebration of all that is good in life-- food, family, and fun. But whatever the cause, when you can see the whites of your young 'un's eyes, and she runs around like an invisible monster is chasing her-- ears flying, tongue hanging to the side, tail waving like a banner, then you know it must be...

Crazy Time!

Life Lesson: If you've never lost your mind, then you've never followed your heart.