Reflections of the past

I read with much sadness about the passing of Misty today - she was a pretty little blue merle sheltie and her mom called her "her good girl". She sounds like she had a temperament much like Reilly does as I always call him "my good boy" I picked Reilly up from his breeder when he was just 6 weeks old (yes - that was very young but we were moving from Minnesota to Nebraska the next day and really had no choice) He was the perfect puppy, he slept the whole way on the drive and NEVER once cried at night time. He was house trained within a week and learned tricks as fast as I could teach him. He has never been a "cuddly" dog, preferring instead to always be close by my feet. He loves his walks and car rides and loved to visit our neighbor and her Corgi Franklin. He has had his share of illness - mainly due to severe food allergies but once we and the vets figured out what the problems were this has been pretty much resolved now.

Most importantly though, Reilly saved me. Since moving to the USA I have suffered on and off with severe depression. I have no family here (apart from my husband) and found it difficult to make friends and I had a depth of loneliness I could not even begin to describe. With Reilly by my side I had a new purpose in my life. His soft head is always close by whenever I need a warm touch, those eyes that seem to just "know" how I am feeling and that attitude of "come on Mom - snap out it and lets play" is always there. He is my constant companion, I take him with me in the car as much as I possibly can as he helps keep me calm, he goes on holidays with us - even though it means LOTS of extra searching to find places that allow dogs. He stays at hotels with us and has never barked at all the strange noises he hears. He walks on a lead perfectly, doesn't bother with other dogs and just enjoys being Reilly.

Last year when I spent 9 months in hospital and was pretty much sick for the rest of it, I was so worried he would change. He spent an awful lot of time alone and even though my step daughter was there to feed him she didn't really have the time to spend with him. I worried constantly how being by himself would affect his personality, so much so they even allowed him to come and visit me in the hospital. And yet there he was when I came home, "my good boy" just as he always was - sweet, adorable and totally Reilly. If that is not amazing than I don't know what is.

Reilly is nearly four years old and I hope and pray to have many many more years of his company. Sadly, we never know what is just around the corner or what can happen, so I wanted to take the time to share my wonderful "good boy" with everyone and document just how special he is to us.