No dog? Perish the thought

THIS PHOTO IS 10 OR 15 YEARS OLD,
 BUT LADY KNEW CUTE UNTIL THE END.

Before we rescued Lady in 2002, I was pondering alternatives to dog ownership. I figured it was so expensive to own a dog that we might be better off just fostering dogs or even going to the Humane Society to pet and walk dogs.

Then, my wife Holly found Lady online. She was at the Guilford County Animal Shelter, and they were calling her Lassie (they thought she was a collie mix).

Immediately, I wanted her. Her looks and personality were too attractive. The animal shelter was having a half-off sale the day we adopted her, and she cost $37.50. And she'd have been worth it at twice the price.

Now, more than 13 and a half years later, and it's obvious that life wouldn't be the same without a dog (specifically, Lady). She's lying near my left foot as I write this, and I can't imagine her anywhere else.

When she passes on, we'll get another dog. It won't be the same, but we'll make do. And we'll love it, too.

NOTE: Lady's still in relatively good health, but she IS 15 and a half years old. As much as I want her to, she can't live forever.

NOTE: Lady passed on Sept. 17, 2016. We found a new dog, a beagle we call Dixie (or Doodle, from Dixie Doodle).

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

Other entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• ... said the spider to ...

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• OOH! OOH! The stereophonic huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Good Samaritan

• The PRESS cap and my friend Mike

• Watching TV

• No luck with Billy Sims

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!