Best Friends

My parents were so good at having records of our childhood. I've always enjoyed going back and reviewing the audio tapes, videos, photos and anecdotes that they kept as we were growing up. One of my favourites is an audio tape of me when I was about 3. My Dad is interviewing me and one of the questions he asks is who is my best friend. I reply that Rose is my best friend. Rose was our English Bulldog. She passed away when I was 5 and my parents said they thought I was going to have to be admitted to the hospital because I was so upset. To this date my dogs have been some of my best friends.

Dylan is always following our dogs around so today when he was laying with Winnie I asked him who his best friend is. His answer : Winnie! I was so happy! Winnie is such an amazing dog. She's as dumb as a rock but as sweet as chocolate cake. She weighs 120 lbs but is scared of anything that moves. She reminds me of Lambert the Sheepish Lion. This morning the kids and I took Winnie to the farmers market and then for a swim in the river. She loves to swim and never hesitates to jump right in. We've had some very warm days lately so the river is very high and moving pretty swiftly. Poor Winnie was caught off guard. She jumped in and the water was much deeper than she expected. She went completely under and then started to drift away. The kids were in a panic and I was about ready to jump in but then Winnie managed to get herself to the edge and climb to safety. I think she was a bit embarrassed but this didn't stop her from jumping in a few more times. She figured out that if she would just go with the flow she could get out a few yards down stream.

I love having animals around and I'm so glad that my kids get the same joy from animals that I always have.