For 11 days straight I saw friends and family, it was awesome! It started with a weekend in KC for a beautiful wedding and then getting to see my best high school friends.  I miss Kansas City so much!  The day we got back Rob's sister Laura came to visit the Springs.  We hiked, did some sight seeing and ate some delicious food.  The day she left, we made our way to St. Louis for long weekend.  It was a rough trip getting there but the weekend was SO much fun.  We got to see family and friends, visit the wineries and go to a Cardinals game. Summer has officially begun for us! 11 weeks until the big move :)

 Mount Pleasant Winery

 

Dancing with Miss Ava at the wineries

Fishy Face

So thankful to be sitting in the shade

Go Cards!

Me and Miss Payton

Payton and Uncle Rob

Jill, feel like crying today?

During my daily gchat with Amanda Thomas we began discussing dogs and our opinions on training, how to treat them and how annoying it is when people give up on them when life gets too busy.  As a fairly new dog owner I have strong opinions about these things, but don't worry that isn't the point of this post. 

During this conversation Amanda says, "You feel like crying today?" My response, "Probably won't take much." She proceeds to send me the below story and later saying, that might hit home even more than I realized. Well, she was right.  I sobbed like a baby for about 25 minutes straight.  Maybe I needed a good cry or may it struck just about every emotional chord imaginable. Happy, Sad, Proud, Sad, Happy. I had to share. 

Warning: reading this in public may cause severe lump in throat due to trying not to cry while co-workers are just a cubicle away. Girl, just let it all out!

As we prepare for our journey to Europe in 3 short months there is so much to think about.  After reading this, I realize I am SO lucky that my husband has a slim chance of deploying and that we get to be together. After that, the details will work themselves out. I also let him know, that if I hear of a deploying soldier that has no one to give their dog to, Duke will have a new playmate.

Subject: Best Dog Story Ever

They told me the big black Lab's name was Reggie, as I looked at him lying in his pen. The shelter was clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly. I'd only been in the area for six months, but everywhere I went in the small college town, people were welcoming and open. Everyone waves when you pass them on the street.

But something was still missing as I attempted to settle in to my new life here, and I thought a dog couldn't hurt. Give me someone to talk to. And I had just seen Reggie's advertisement on the local news.  The shelter said they had received numerous calls right after, but they said the people who had come down to see him just didn't look like "Lab people," whatever that meant. They must've thought I did.

But at first, I thought the shelter had misjudged me in giving me Reggie and his things, which consisted of a dog pad, bag of toys almost all of which were brand new tennis balls, his dishes and a sealed letter from his previous owner.

See, Reggie and I didn't really hit it off when we got home. We struggled for two weeks (which is how long the shelter told me to give him to adjust to his new home). Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to adjust, too. Maybe we were too much alike.

I saw the sealed envelope. I had completely forgotten about that. "Okay, Reggie," I said out loud, "let's see if your previous owner has any advice”

To Whomever Gets My Dog:

     Well, I can't say that I'm happy you're reading this, a letter I told the shelter could only be opened by Reggie's new owner. I'm not even happy writing it. He knew something was different. So let me tell you about my Lab in the hopes that it will help you bond with him and he with you.

     First, he loves tennis balls. The more the merrier. Sometimes I think he's part squirrel, the way he hoards them. He usually always has two in his mouth, and he tries to get a third in there. Hasn't done it yet. Doesn't matter where you throw them, he'll bound after them, so be careful. Don't do it by any roads.

     Next, commands. Reggie knows the obvious ones ---"sit," "stay," "come," "heel." He knows hand signals, too: He knows "ball" and "food" and "bone" and "treat" like nobody's business.

     Feeding schedule: twice a day, regular store-bought stuff; the shelter has the brand.

     He's up on his shots. Be forewarned: Reggie hates the vet. Good luck getting him in the car. I don't know how he knows when it's time to go to the vet, but he knows.

     Finally, give him some time. It's only been Reggie and me for his whole life. He's gone everywhere with me, so please include him on your daily car rides if you can. He sits well in the backseat, and he doesn't bark or complain. He just loves to be around people, and me most especially.

     And that's why I need to share one more bit of info with you...His name's not Reggie. He's a smart dog, he'll get used to it and will respond to it, of that I have no doubt. But I just couldn't bear to give them his real name. But if someone is reading this... well it means that his new owner should know his real name. His real  

name is "Tank.” Because, that is what I drive.

     I told the shelter that they couldn't make "Reggie" available for adoption until they received word from my company commander. You see, my parents are gone, I have no siblings, no one I could've left Tank with ... and it was my only real request of the Army upon my deployment to Iraq, that they make one phone call to the shelter ...in the "event" ... to tell them that Tank could be put up for adoption. Luckily, my CO is a dog-guy, too, and he knew where my platoon was headed. He said he'd do it personally. And if you're reading this, then he made good on his word.

Tank has been my family for the last six years, almost as long as the Army has been my family. And now I hope and pray that you make him part of your family, too, and that he will adjust and come to love you the same way he loved me. If I have to give up Tank to keep those terrible people from coming to the US I am glad to have done so. He is my example of service and of love. I hope I honored him by my service  

to my country and comrades.

     All right, that's enough. I deploy this evening and have to drop this letter off at the shelter. Maybe I'll peek in on him and see if he finally got that third tennis ball in his mouth.

     Good luck with Tank. Give him a good home, and give him an extra kiss goodnight – every night – from me.

Thank you, - - Paul Mallory

I folded the letter and slipped it back in the envelope. Sure, I had heard of Paul Mallory, everyone in town knew him, even new people like me. Local kid, killed in Iraq a few months ago and posthumously earning the Silver Star when he gave his life to save three buddies. Flags had been at half-mast all summer. I leaned forward in my chair and rested my elbows on my knees, staring at the dog.

 "Hey, Tank," I said quietly. The dog's head whipped up, his ears cocked and his eyes bright. "C'mere boy." He was instantly on his feet, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor. He sat in front of me, his head tilted, searching for the name he hadn't heard in months. "Tank," I whispered. His tail swished. I kept whispering his name, over and over, and each time, his ears lowered, his eyes softened, and his posture relaxed as a wave of contentment just seemed to flood him. I stroked his ears, rubbed his shoulders, buried my face into his scruff and hugged him. "It's me now, Tank, just you and me. Your old pal gave you to me." Tank reached up and licked my cheek. "So whatdaya say we play some ball?" His ears perked again. "Yeah? Ball? You like that? Ball?"

Tank tore from my hands and disappeared into the next room. And when he came back, he had three tennis balls in his mouth.

If you can read this without getting a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye, you just ain't right.

A veteran is someone who, at one point, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America' for an amount of ‘up to and including their life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."