Hello All,
I know it has been quite some time since I have written anything in this blog. It sometimes feels so futile, like who is reading this anyway?
But, it’s the Army Run day in Ottawa and a pretty quiet Sunday, so here goes.
Astra turned one (1) on August 25th and we ‘celebrated’ a whole year together on October 17th. I can’t believe we’ve made it. Both of us are still in one piece. We had a couple health scares. For Astra, not me. She had a blockage from eating something - likely hard plastic - and was kept overnight at the emergency vet clinic. (It is possible I blogged about this incident.)
She’s almost choked a few times on sticks. It was pretty scary, but she survived and my heart eventually returned to a normal, healthy beat. This girl stresses me out. She still gets into things she shouldn’t, but she’s gotten a lot better and not picking up every piece of garbage she smells/sees on the street. (Sigh.)
It’s been a year of learning, growing and getting to know each other.
Astra reacts when I get upset, angry or frustrated. (Mostly work related stress, to be honest.) I realized early on that I would have to control my emotions, and i am working on it. But I am a hot-blooded Latin girl after all, so … what’s a girl to do?
Astra has such a big heart and is so kind to (almost) everyone, no matter if they are homeless, in business suits, police officers, young, old, the wheelchair bound. She doesn’t discriminate based on the colour of someone’s skin. (Except there was this one time she barked at a lovely young lady in a hijab, who was asking me for directions … Sorry!) Fortunately, there is no pattern to why she reacts to certain people and not others.
This is the reason I love dogs so much. They have so much love to give, and Astra has it in spades! Generally, she just loves everyone and doesn’t understand why some people don’t want to stop and tell her how beautiful she is! She’s such a sweet girl (until you try and take a stick, tissue or another dog’s ball/toy from her mouth.)
She definitely makes me stop and smell the roses!
Best of all, she puts a smile on the faces of those who want to stop and give her a pat, or her most favourite thing, a belly rub. Pure doggie bliss! And, that makes me happy, to be able to stop and let a stranger have a joyful moment with Astra. All in all, I feel blessed to have her in my life.
Buyer’s regret? No, but the day is still young.
Feel free to share some of your dog/cat/fish/iguana/bird stories. I would love to hear them.
Thank you for reading.
Ellie