Date: 14 Nov 2004 
To: golden@hobbes.ucsd.edu 
Subject: Dog woman's answer to the Red Hat Society 

Got this from my obedience training club newsletter.  Many of us have 
read about the Red Hat Society for "older" women. This is the dog lover 
version!

When I am old, I shall wear turquoise & soft gray sweatshirts, & a
bandana over my silver hair, & I shall spend my social security
checks on sweet wine & my dogs, & sit in my house on my well-worn 
chair & listen to my dogs breathing.  I will sneak out in the middle of 
a warm Summer night & take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will 
allow & when people come to call, will smile & nod as I show them my
dogs & talk of them & about them.  The ones so beloved of the
past, & the ones so beloved of today.  I still will work hard
cleaning after them & mopping & feeding them, & whispering their
names in a soft, loving way. I will wear the gleaming sweat on
my throat, like a jewel, &  I will be an embarrassment to all &
my family who have not yet found the peace in being free to have
dogs as your best friends These friends who always   wait, at any
hour, for your footfall & eagerly jump to their feet out of a  
sound sleep, to greet you as if you are a God.  With warm eyes full
of adoring love & hope that you will stay, & their big, strong
necks, & kiss their dear sweet heads & whisper to their very
special company.  I look in the mirror  & see I am getting
old.  This is the kind of woman I am & have always been. Loving
dogs is easy they are part of me, accept me for who I am. 
My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives.  When I am old
this will be important to  me.  You will understand when you are
old & if you have dogs to love too.  

(Thanks! Lois, Newman & Laura)







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