Dakota

I thought I would give a little bit of an update on how Dakota is doing. We were able to visit her Halloween night. She was super excited to see us... especially Gaven, and we were pretty excited to see her, too. I wasn't sure what to expect when seeing her and at this point, I was still undecided as to whether we were going to take them up on their offer of giving her back after a week or two. First of all, when we pulled up to their house, my comment to Jason was, "WOW, Dakota is moving up in the world!!" Their house is HUGE and gorgeous! Dakota was out front on a leash with them while they were handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. The boys immediately went over to her and hugged and kissed her. We chatted with their family for a while and then they invited us in to show us around. I laughed at the ease in which Dakota wandered the house and lounged around in the room that we were visiting. Out back, they have a pool. There are big stone steps heading down to the pool and when we were out viewing the pool, she was laying sprawled out on the steps. I could tell immediately that she was happy and content. At that point I would have almost felt guilty bringing her back to our house! We toured their house and then it was time to say goodbye and head out trick-or-treating. I lingered and was able to give her the goodbye that I didn't feel like I had the time to give her the night they came to get her. When I left their house that night, I missed her more than I had before, and it wasn't until about 3-4 days later that I felt some closure in our decision to find her a new home. It still makes me sad not to see her with Gaven. He really loved her and she loved him back! He fussed a little calling her name again when it was time for us to leave, and as much as that broke my heart, I'm glad I didn't let that weigh in on my decision.

So, as much as we still miss Dakota, we are all doing well. It gets a little easier each day. We have some extra pig ears and raw hides that I think I will bring to her sometime this week, but I won't take the boys. They are just fine without her, without reminding them that they are without her. I miss my dog, but I can now say with confidence: We are all better off! (I think)...