This morning's "therapy session"

More therapy this morning - another run.

I am happy to report that the running part of my life is steadily improving. I am both impressed and shocked at how readily my body is responding to it again. Not to mention the positive effect this is having on mental and emotional state.

Huh. Maybe I really AM a runner after all. Well, if this doesn't teach me that, then frankly, nothing will.

This morning I found myself thinking about our dog, Max. I see lots of people out walking their dogs in the early morning, and for some reason, today, Max popped into my mind. Hell, maybe I'm just desperately searching for something ELSE to feel guilty about...

In any case, I thought about Max. Max, our 150-lb, Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix who was dumb as a post but the sweetest dog on the planet. We got him right after we were first married from the SPCA when he was just a wee puppy. He soon grew up into a massive dog with the heart of a lap dog. He was a handful! He ate leather sandals (yes, that's right, I said ATE sandals...everything but the soles!!), chewed other shoes, dug giant holes in the backyard, ripped open our garbage and dragged it through the house when he was left home alone. He did a million other things too, that have been forgotten about over the years. He loved people and he loved playing hide and seek and laying in a big bean bag chair that we had just for him. He was good natured and protective and possibly the dumbest dog that ever lived.

After Emma was born, we had even less time for dear old Max. With a little baby to care for (and a high-maintenance one at that) we had even less time for our high-maintenance dog. Max got even less attention than he had before. We weren't being fair to poor old Max.

After a long decision-making period, we decided that we needed to find another home for Max. Add to the complication the fact that we were selling our house and moving into an apartment so that I could be a stay-at-home mom, and there's not too many places big enough to accommodate a dog of that size. Eventually, we took him to a wonderful animal shelter that keeps the animals until a suitable home is found for them.

I was surprised to find out how hard it was to do that, how much I missed him. How much I still miss him! Sometimes I see dogs around the city that look very much like him. I've even stopped and struck up conversations with the owners. None of them have been Max.

This morning I thought of dear old Max and was filled with sadness. We did right by him, in the end, and I'm sure that he's in a loving house and getting all the attention and love that he deserves. I'm sorry that we weren't the ones to be able to give him that.

Hopefully, for the sake of his new family, he's broken his sandal-eating habit.