Canis Familiaris

It's been five months in a dogless house, which doesn't seem that long and at the same time feels like an eternity.  Every morning as I awaken and gaze across the floor to where the dog bed used to be, I am reminded.  The dog bed where my sweet girl used to sleep that is no longer there.  An empty spot left behind.  As I turn around to pull the door shut on my way to work, I now say goodbye to the house because Maple is no longer there bobbing her little tail.  When I walk through the door in the evening, there is no jumping, squealing and licking.  Just cool, quiet, lifeless hardwood floors.  There is no playing catch and there are no half-eaten stuffed animals laying about.  There is no warm little furry body to curl up beside me as I laze in bed on Sunday morning.  There are no beady little eyes staring me down for a bite of my bagel.

There's no dog hair.  There's no worry about getting home in time for the dog.  There's no worry someone will leave the fence open.  There's no barking, no 'accidents' and no dog snoring.  There's no pre-planning required for staying out all night or going away for a few days.  There's no need to stop at the store on the way home to buy dog food.  There's no need to give the dog a bath.  There's no reminder on the calendar for flea preventative.  There's no vet appointments or vet bill.  There's only quiet.  There's only nothing.

I think I'm done with the nothing.  It's time.....stay tuned.