Dogsitting

Preparing for travel used to be simple. Literally put everything into a pile, pack it up, and go. If I forgot something, I'd buy it on the road.

But life has changed significantly since the time when I traveled often for work.

Namely, Rosie the Dog.

She can't exactly let herself out. Or feed herself. And she does require snuggly attention.

Rosie has lived here for about 18 months now, and I have only taken four air trips in that span (Super Bowl in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Iceland/London, and Los Angeles), the fifth being Hawaii later this week. In my "old" life, that could have been a good month of travel for me.

Luckily, I have Ryan for overnight dogsitting and Renee for daytime walks. I hate imposing on Ryan so much, though, since I pay him in pizza, beer, and Cheez-Its, plus the privilege of hanging with Rosie. But he doesn't seem to mind, for now.

So with my forthcoming vacation, I decided to introduce Rosie to a new friend yesterday - Goose. She loves these American Kennel Club dolls, treating them like her friends or children. She never tears them up, prances around proudly with them in her mouth, and often lays on the ground resting her head atop them. Goose now joins Squirrel, Beaver, and Duck in Rosie's animal farm.