Oh, Holly,

What a beautiful and very sad, but true poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.  I am so sorry for your grief and the loss of your beloved dog, Dakota.  This is never an easy time for anyone.  You mentioned to me in your second email that "maybe there was a reason why Blazer came into my life when he did" after I lost my precious wirehaired dachshund, Drucy, and you were so right.  Even though I was not emotionally prepared to take on another dog, partly because I feared that Drucy would feel I had betrayed her, I knew that if I didn't rescue this little guy he would probably be euthanized at the shelter because he had been labeled a "biter" and many shelters will not take the risk of adopting out aggressive dogs like that, so they put them down.  So, yes, I took him in and I liked him a lot, but I saved my heart for Drucy for a long time.  I treated Blazer very well, because I love animals so much and then the next thing I knew, I REALLY loved him very, very much.  And, it didn't take away the love I had for my beloved Drucy in any way, shape, or form.  It showed me that my heart was huge and that I had plenty of room to love two dogs and maybe even 6 or 8 dogs (if I had a big enough house!).  My hope is that you, too, will have a dog come into your life that really needs you and lots of love.  This dog will never replace Dakota, ever, but will enhance your life to know that you, too, have a very huge heart that has room to love another dog and still love Dakota, as well.

I am so tickled to see you finally posted on http://www.tripawds.com!  Now, my good friend, I hope to see you on many different forums.  You have so much love to offer, Holly, and it would be the world's loss to not have you share your feelings on this website.  I think the world of you and I know others will, too.

Love, Vicki, Blazer & Kitty Kimber