Charles and I are “Dog people.” If you have to ask what a “Dog person” is, chances are you are not one. There are households where life revolves around the children. Well, Charles and I have a household that revolves around the dogs.

There are several reasons we chose to parent dogs rather than children – the number one being we are grandparents and we have passed the season of  life where we could stay up late enough to worry about our human children’s whereabouts. Daisy and Thurber go to bed when we do. Dogs are definitely easier although not necessarily cheaper.

We seem to travel a good bit in the fall. Boarding dogs, one of whom is diabetic and requires insulin injections twice a day, gets to be pricey. Every time we pick them up at what amounts to the Ritz Carleton of doggy hotels, buy new bags of designer dog food, and whip out the American Express card, I can’t believe we do this. Only another “Dog Person” would understand. It thrills my heart when I pull in my driveway in the evenings and see those Corgi ears perked up and those little faces watching for me  at the very bottom of our glass front door.

When my son and his wife in Denver began a major renovation on their house, they  had to move into a rental for six months. No pets were allowed. Because they have three children, it was important to find a big enough place in close proximity to their schools. They simply could not find anything adequate that included Dutch the dog.

And that, my friends, is how Dutch the Denver Dog moved his residency to MaeMae’s house in Mississippi. Any reservations I may have had about adding another Corgi to the mix vanished the minute I saw those big feet and big brown eyes peeking through the  mesh on his crate as he came gliding down the luggage carousel at the airport.

I remember when I found out I was carrying my second child. There were times I wondered if I could possibly love a second child as much as I loved my first. Any mother can tell you it takes one look at that tiny pink bundle to forget that fear…and to be hooked forever.

So now we are three…Daisy, Thurber, and Dutch…and life is complete!