May 11, 2018

Greetings My Friend,

Since Daisy's death Sunday night my day to day life has been off. For a couple of days I purposely did not do my routines. As I mourned her death I was seeing I needed another baby to help me get about my life with Parkinson's. Daisy knew my needs and adapted to them, I carried her all about the house which helped me be balanced, keeping my lower back in alignment. I loved her warm body snuggled near mine how she would steal water out of my cup. I began searching the internet for a smaller dog than little Daisy. I learned Daisy was not a teacup poodle but a miniature. I thought a teacup poodle would be perfect, I even found one then the price tag was more than I wanted to spend. It also occurred to me that there are lots of rescue dogs around, especially in our area. I am surprised how people will spend big money on a full breed dog, then give them to the pound, drop them off on the side of the road then leave. We got up Thursday with the idea of going to find a rescue, Brenda cut up a newspaper list of pounds in the area so we could find a small dog to be rescued. Then we headed over to Brother Wolf animal rescue to see if they knew of any small dogs that needed to be adopted. Kelly put us in touch with the pound in our area who had a miniature pincher. It was love at first sight when I saw Lilly. She was so friendly, a bit heavier than Daisy by about 2 pounds and very active. While Junior went in to sign the paperwork, I started thinking on the differences between Daisy and Lilly. Daisy was not as active, she was in her senior years, Lilly is 3 years old and extremely active, she appears almost hyper as she scoots around the place. Those 2 pounds felt like a lot while I was carrying her. Junior was not sure she would be good for me although I was sensing that I needed Lilly's activeness, when we first got Cato I watched Junior take Cato out for walks several times a day, I started to think I needed to find a reason to get more walking. Now I knew Lilly would do this for me. I will need to walk her in good weather or bad, more than likely even if it is just to the end of the porch like I did this morning around 3:00. I sensed God was showing me that I have come to a stage of being able to be more active, that my fatigue is not as severe as it was 4 years ago when I got Daisy. Lilly being a minpin means she will not be compared to Daisy as easily. I still miss Daisy like crazy, I also know I need to let Lilly be Lilly. I will have to get more walking in taking Lilly out which means when the weather is bad, I will be out there. I love looking for kindling and wood, this past winter has taught me I won't go looking when the weather is bad. Lilly will make me stay active which in turn helps me keep the Parkinson's progression at bay. I feel blessed to have gained a bit more energy to the point I need to add more exercise to my day. So today I start a new chapter in my life learning to love a new fur baby, being more active and I am thankful to have a little bundle of energy to share in this journey with me. May God bless you make His face shine on you. Love Janet