Bailey!

Ok it was bound to happen. Those of you that know me I am sure are not surprised by this post. I have to have one on here dedicated to Bailey. She is so much a part of the family that it would be weird not to have her included!

I was sitting on the floor this afternoon opening some of Nicolas's presents for him and she got up off her bed and came over to me putting her nose on my face and wanting some love. It was odd only in the fact that unless it is time to eat or she needs to go out, she never does this. Bailey is not a snuggle type dog. She loves her attention, but she isn't a dog that loves to be cuddled. So, it made me happy and it also got me thinking that I wanted to do this post.

When Bailey came into my life she was seven weeks old and just the cutest little thing I had ever seen. I was living at home at the time and had to convince my parents that she could stay with us. It took my Mom all of a day to fall in love with her and my Dad, maybe two minutes. See we had a dog growing up named Muffin. She was a mix of a poodle and a cocker-spaniel and maybe something else. Small, white, and furry. She was loved by all and lived to be about 16 years old. When Muffin passed away, as hard as it was to say goodbye, I think my Mom was a little relieved to not have that responsibility anymore. Because we all know that even though it is a "family dog", Mom usually is the one who takes care of it! Anyway, she didn't want this to happen again with Bailey. Long story short, it didn't. My family loved her and when I moved to Arizona all those years ago, I think they were more upset to see her leave than me!!

It has been that way everywhere we move. When we moved from Arizona back to Utah the first time, the neighbors missed her. When we left Utah to go back to Arizona, our neighbors were shedding tears over seeing her go! Again, same thing leaving Arizona and coming up here to Washington. Everyone falls in love with her and really ends up feeling like they are losing their own dog when we leave. She is just that way, every new person she comes across is a potential new friend! In her world she has the right to wander around the neighborhood with no leash, smell everyone's bushes, go in everyone's garages, and roll in their lawns! I honestly think she does not understand why anyone would be annoyed by her presence. She seems to look at some people with confusion when they don't instantly want to pet her and say hello. I have always thought of her as an old soul of sorts. One that doesn't know that there are actually people in the world that do not love her as much as we do! Lucky her is what I say, I wish I had that naivety sometimes. To be oblivious to all of life's troubles and just go through life waiting for your next friend to round the corner. That is our Bailey and I love her for it.

So, I could write a novel on this girl. I won't though. I just had to share little piece of her now with everyone. There will be more in the future I am sure. We all love her so much and honestly can't imagine life without her. You start out with a pet and over the years end up with a best friend, a good listener, a protector, and so much more. Bailey has shown me how fragile that line is between man and animal. She has taught me how to have respect for all animals and their feelings. In a way she has shown me and taught me what humanity is. She has loved me, trusted me, brought me much joy, comforted me, and made me a more compassionate and patient person now for almost eleven years. I have heard that people who have pets in their lifetime will only truly have one "heart dog" during that time. If this is true, than I could not be happier that Bailey is that one for me. So, for those that will say she is "just a dog", I guess I have to say I am sorry they just don't get to understand!