Pip is home for the holidays

Pip's new ride

Holiday is in the air allright. I drove to Whole Foods to meet Pip's new dad, Brett with a crate and to pick up some marrow bones for the dogs. The lights are all twinkly and stage is set to lure the crowds into Thanksgiving purchases and pave the way for Christmas. Ok, I went for it, too. I got some Rice Nog and gingerbread cookies.

We are sitting here right now eating Chef Boy-Ar-Dee pizza in a box like I used to have as a kid and watching 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' It's time for a trip down memory lane, but with new memories.

Brett and Pip

Amber, BeBe, Peanut and Nolan are just a chomping on their marrow bones. Of course, Amber ate all the good stuff out of hers and sat there waiting on something else, something better. She reminds me of me, always working that angle for a better deal. It's so hard not to spoil her.

It took six hours today, but I finally got all the Petfinder, Adopt-A-Pet and other sites updated with the dogs. I added Guido and Spuds to the Texas pages. I am so excited to get them here. I can't wait to see them and hug them, get them all cozy in their own crates with a bone to chew.

This is going to be the best Christmas ever, a season of trying to move past the awful things that happened last summer at Spindletop and look for new beginnings and healing. Amber is ready to go. I can tell she wants to meet her forever family. I wonder who it will be. Will it be a single lady who wants a gentle soulful companion or a nice man like Atticus Finch who would enjoy sitting on the front porch swing with a girl like Amber? Will it be family with kids who want a dog to share their childhood with, like Scout and Jem?

The families are the best part. You just know it when the adoption is right. The dogs tell you. Tonight, for instance, I could tell Pip was done with my part in her life. She gave me a tiny nose to my ear, or a passing nod in dog talk, but I'm thrilled. She is Brett and Jenny's dog now. They are a family. My job is done. We had a long time together, me and Pip.

A happy Pippy Christmas

 When I snapped a couple of photos, the lights just shone around her, like the world was plugged in and Pip's own backdrop. She's made it and is very much loved. I have to hold onto that as there were some sad things today.

A momma dog who looks just like Pip is in the Modesto shelter with 10 babies. The chances are slim they'll all make it out alive. The three dogs who were living by the river near Sacramento and found by a deaf boy were all shot to death by a cop. While driving to Whole Foods, a tiny dog, maybe a little Papillon was running back and forth across the busy four lane highway. I nearly had a wreck trying to find him, but he dashed terrified down a dirt road and disappeared. I am hoping he had a home down that road.

Those are the memories which keep me awake. We are living in a horrible time. There are so many unwanted animals and so much sadness. In the movie, Atticus shoots a mad dog with the children and Cal watching. I'd forgotten about that part. I'll go down to BeBe's house in a minute and finish 'To Kill a Mockingbird' with her.

Tomorrow, we have a date to watch 'Gone With the Wind.' AMC is doing it up right this Thanksgiving with the movies. I wonder if the people who run AMC have dogs. They must, because the movies they're airing are dog watching movies. I can't imagine watching a movie without the companionship of animals. They're just better.