Good to be home.
I was away for a few days; away from Luke and Elsa. As much as I hate to be away, it is good to get away now and again. In fact I don't get away very often; so when I can I enjoy it to the fullest. Of course this means that someone needs to take care of my dogs. We have a couple of great sitters; so I consider myself very lucky to be able to leave Luke and Elsa in the comfort of their home when I have to be away. I can't even imagine boarding them at a Vets like some folks do. Left to sit in a cage until my return? Uh, no.
Even though Luke and Elsa are happy to be with their sitter; there is nothing like coming home after being gone for a few days. This time was no different; it is like there is a huge celebration party. As Luke is getting older his big greetings are changing; this one was very different and had me smiling from ear to ear. As soon as we walked through the door the excitement began. Thinking that we were the sitter coming in; they were over the top elated that it was indeed Mom and Dad. Elsa started to smile and continued smiling for the entirety of the home coming event.
Luke was on the couch; which is where he stayed for most of it. He was so excited that he could not contain himself; he tried to run up and down the couch but his old legs kept giving out. But that was not enough to stop him. Resembling a seal on the beach he flopped around; half up, half down. With my assistance he got to his feet once again, only to be down once more. He had his happy sideways head on and was a huffing fool. Our faces met as he felt the need to deliver some "WELCOME HOME" chin nibbles. We had many eye contact connections; Luke's way of saying "Mom, you're home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Luke and I were caught up in our moment while Elsa circled; her tail whipping us both as she passed by. She continued her smiles which were very appropriate one sided Elvis grins. She does on occasion do a full mouth smile but that is typical the first few. Then she moves to the Elvis look; the left side of her mouth pulling up with excitement. Her tail is lethal which we have all learned to keep at a distance. Her whole body wags along with her tail; making her look like she is hinged in the middle. With her head dropped, eyes squinted and lip pulled up, she is quite a sight. A sight for sore eyes.
We had a second greeting yesterday. We had been at the gym very early and when we opened the door they were once again happy that it was Mom and Dad. It was a much larger than the normal "oh hi you're home;" greeting but not as big as the one the evening before. It's good to get away, good for us and good for our dogs. Not ever going away is a big mistake; our dogs need to learn that we will return and be okay with our absence. I know a lot of people that are never away from their dogs, but we should be; everyone needs a break once in a while, even our dogs.