A Real Christmas Present

by Susan Fox

Piper is 3 days post-op and we are all a bit frustrated. I have read about Airedales that are stoic and don't demonstrate discomfort when they are in pain or distress. Ha!! Not this one!! She is crying all the time, head-butting us, or any stationary object, with the cone she is wearing in an attempt to be rid of it. A good nights sleep right now sounds pretty good but not likely for a few days anyway. Needless to say, there isn't a lot of Christmas Spirit right now, we're all too tired...

Then the mailbox started filling up with the very best Christmas gifts anyone could hope for! Pictures and letters from all our foster furkids. I sat down last night looking at the pictures with tears in my eyes feeling so lucky to have been able to walk down the path of life, however brief it may be, with these kind souls by my side. How touched our lives can be by a simple gesture of kindness toward another being. Each of the foster dogs have taught me another life lesson about compassion and love. Every dog was special and unique and all will remain in our hearts forever. Each time we go through the fostering process we contemplate it being the last time. It is very difficult to walk away, leaving the dog you have grown to love and made a promise to, in the care of a stranger. Today all those "strangers" are our friends and all our furkids have wonderful homes. We stay in contact with all our new friends and for us, it's Christmas all year because when I get an email with pictures from one of the "kids" it's the best gift of all!

How fortunate I am to have a husband that is very supportive and always willing to help with the dogs and Piper who welcomes anyone into our home regardless of the number of legs they have.

My friend who lives in Alabama just sent our Christmas gift to us. She sent a $200.00 check to be donated to ATRA and nothing could have pleased me any more! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and appreciate each and every one of you for having a kind heart and helping out the wonderful Airedales in our world.