Can you believe it?!?!? When I think about it I still find myself stopping, biting my lip, and looking up into my eyebrows to do the math. Yep, it's for sure 13! I know I sound like a broken record because every post about Preacher is "we are so lucky, it's amazing, he had cancer" an so on. But here's one thing I never said out loud - I truly thought that his 2009 birthday would be his last. But right this minute he is sprawled out on the couch. He must be dreaming about chasing something, 'cause his legs are kicking.This past June was another important anniversary for us - it marked 12 years since we adopted Preacher from Great Dane Rescue of North Texas. I can't remember if I've shared this story or not... We found this Dane rescue group online. Tom was hesitant about getting a second dog (that makes me laugh out loud now!) but I talked him into it and, in fact, we drove up to Dallas on Tom's birthday. When we perused their website I was looking for the most pitiful dog they had - I guess I had a bit of the Florence Nightingale syndrome. There was a little Dane mix puppy that was deaf and blind in one eye and I wanted her BAD! But apparently her foster family decided to keep her so I had to settle for the plain ole deaf one - his name was Duffy. We drove up to Dallas to meet him with Seven in tow. We wanted them to meet to make sure there was no obvious initial hatred. I have to say, she was pretty disgusted bordering slightly on hate. But after a five minute walk in front of PetCo we looked at each other and said "I guess it's ok." I'd love to say that it was love at first sight and we were over the moon for him and Seven had hearts floating above her head, but it just wasn't that storybook. We signed the paperwork and hopped into our little Honda Civic for the three hour drive home. The dogs were in the back seat together - in hindsight, and having done rescue for 11+ years now, this was not the smartest way to handle things. But off we went. For the first hour and a half Seven spent her time trying to climb into the front seat. If she could have flipped us off she would have. And then, half way home, something changed. I don't know if she gave up or if he used some sort of telepathy on her, but they started playing. A 36 pound Dingo mix and a 110 pound Great Dane in the back seat of a Honda Civic. The car literally rocked from Waco to home! And that's when we knew we'd absolutely made the right decision.
So Preacher, the dog formerly known as Duffy, is gonna be celebrating 13 with a big ole hamburger tonight! Maybe I can talk him into sharing with Seven for old times sake.
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