MOVING ON WHETHER I WANT TO OR NOT

Down to three dogs. When we began owning dogs and my Mother was still alive, every new dog and cat brought a chorus of dismay. Oh no, we didn't REALLY need another dog (cat) did we?
Well no of course we didn't NEED one.
We wanted one.
Or two.
Or three. Or.....
And at one point we had 5 and then 4 and now 3.

I have friends with drop-dead gorgeous homes, who travel widely and have beautiful art and gardens and in their closets they have clothing and extra linens and good pots and pans and new dishes and in my closets I have extra blankets for the dogs, throws for the furniture, cases of KOE and enzymatic barf cleaner, stacks of paper towels: cupboards sport dog bowls, dog dishes, dog plates, extra cans of dog food, emergency dog food for sickies, and my medicine cabinet has Flagyl and Tramadol, Rimadyl and GasX, Benedryl,Reglan, a few antibiotics and a couple of tablets of Prednisone...if I cut my finger my choices are purple or green Vetwrap.

The shelf in the other room is a veritable nest of leashes: leather,nylon, show leads, braided leads, 4 foot leads, 6 foot leads and collars-- prong collars, martingale collars, buckle collars, collars with nameplates and tags, collars without, small ones for puppies, and a slew of as-they-grow sizes. Tracking harnesses, tracking leads, surveyor poles with flags and without,  and  gloves, socks, hats, wallets and little tins to use as articles on tracks.

The kitchen drawers contain special treats, Frontline, HeartGard, some old toys and some chewed up bones.

If you come into my house and inhale and say BOY THAT SMELLS GOOD I am cooking for the dogs.
Chances are good if you come in my house and inhale you may also think--wow, she needs to steam those rugs!

Decorations consist of crates, dog blankets, dog beds, little portable stairs so the Bassets can access the furniture, dog show photos, backyard dog photos, and the one or two trophies we have managed to snag.
And on another shelf, somewhat hidden away, are the cannisters and glass urns and the boxes....Walker, Quiller, Mitchell, Zelda and now Cooper. (And the cats.)

So down to three now. And it is so quiet. Way too quiet. I have begun searching for that new addition.... and when it is very very still I can almost hear my Mother saying "Oh BEVERLY, Not ANOTHER one!" But is it faint, and I can ignore it.....