And Too Short

Last week I called my post Short and Sweet, referring to the post itself, at least somewhat.

This week, what's on my mind in addition to my writing, and my looming deadlines--which I'll meet, fortunately--is the too-short lives of pets.

I heard yesterday that a sweet dog owned by a neighbor died suddenly over the weekend.  And if you remember, we lost one of our dogs a bit over a year ago. 

Yes, we now have another Cavalier to give Mystie, and ourselves, more companionship, but as adorable as she is, Cari isn't Lexie.  Sure, she has some plusses we never received from Lexie, and I love her dearly, but it's not like we could, or would, replace our lost dog. 

I write about dogs in all of my current novels.  I love dogs.  And in my fiction, at least, I don't have to worry about any being harmed.   

Reality is harder. 

I heard that my neighbor apparently does not plan to get another dog, although she does have other pets.   Whether or not to adopt another is entirely a person's choice, and I can understand not wanting to deal with that kind of pain again.

But I'll always have a dog or two, and I'll always write about them.  All lives are too short, but pets are, to me at least, a marvelous part of mine.