Be My Valentine

Marilyn was very excited as soon as she woke up on this Valentine's day. She woke me up at 5:30 "Let's go for a walk!" "Really? It's one hour early, plus it's still dark out." So, she waited till 6:30. "It's time!"

We put our coats on, then I opened the door. It was freezing. The air was sharp and clear. The sky was beautiful with salmon pink and orange gradation. Since the side walks had been cleared, she decided to walk down the side walk instead of going to the doggy path in the back yard. We walked the side walk between the snow banks. Then, we noticed another wall up front. She didn't want to turn around. There were few cars on the road. So, we walked down the edge of the road. Clear morning air always feel good.

Once we came back, she got breakfast, and I had coffee. Then, I prepped for our Valentine's day visit. These were for her people friends who always give her treats. They are a little "thank you" to them from Marilyn.

She had something for her doggy friends, too.

After her breakfast, she just couldn't wait to get out. She came to me "Let's go!" every 5 minutes. When I opened the car door, she hopped right in.

The first stop was the vet. She had some checkups there. Of course, she brought them one of her Valentine's day treats. They are always so good to her. She wanted to say "thank you." The second stop was her "the other" family. We stopped by her "the other" mom's flower shop. They were busy with men who were picking up Valentine's day flowers. So, we did quick-hi.

On the way home, we stopped by a pet supply store. Marilyn picked up her own Valentine's day gift from me. There were so many treats in the store. Marilyn sniffed all treats her snout could reach. She was particularly excited with this one. There were two flavor, this beefy one and cheese and bacon. I hold both flavor in each hand and had her pick. She tried to take a bite of the beefy flavor. We saw the winner. But, how come the cheese and bacon one didn't win? Come on, it's bacon!

At the store, she gave a kiss to a gentle man. "Oh, now I'm in a big trouble." though he was having a big smile on him. He told us he has a German Shepard. I can picture his dog was sniffing all over him when he got home. "Did you spend time with other dogs? How dare you!"

Past 2:00, it started snowing. We headed to our Be My Velentine stroll. The first stop was Shirley's. We had a little chat. Marilyn got cookies and a bag of jerky. Oh no, this was supposed to be expressing her "thank you", not "more treat please!"

We were walking down the quiet street. Nobody was out side, just us. Then, a car came from the behind us. That was Marie, Sammy's mom. "Hi, Marilyn!" "Oh, we are going to stop by when we get there." "Are you walking all the way?" "Yeah, she needs to use her legs." "Uh right. I hear you. Then, see you later."

On the way to Sammy's, we stopped by Lorri's. As soon as she saw her house, Marilyn went straight to the door. Then, Marilyn got more cookies. Alas! Did I mention she doesn't have a dog, but has dog cookies all the time? Lorri showed me the bags of deer and turkey food picked up by her daughter that morning. She also feeds stray cats in the neighborhood. She is like St. Francis, just a sweet sweet lady.

Once we left Lori's, Marilyn was ready to go home. "Hey, we've got to go see Sammy. Let's go." She was not so happy. Snow was getting her. But, we walked down a little farther to Sammy's. When we got their drive way, the door opened "Come on. Come in." Sammy jumped out the door and got so excited seeing Marilyn. Marilyn garve Sammy a Velentine's day treat and a coat which is a little small to her. Sammy tried on her new coat. The red corduroy looked so cute on her light brown fur. Marie was more excited with it than Sammy was. Again, Marilyn got more cookies there.

Then, we went to Neil and Denise's. Their dog, Cosmo, was Marilyn's boyfriend. He went over the rainbow bridge two years ago. He was a sweet boy. After Cosmo was gone, they still enjoy Marilyn as a company. Marilyn loves to go over their house, and they love it. Whenever we walk by their house, she tries to stop by. Neil have a big smile on his face whenever I tell him that "Good. That's good."

Finally, we started heading home. We had a one more stop to make. That's Sammy and Kannya's. This is another house she goes straight to the door whenever we walk by their house. This day was not an exception. I knocked the door. Olga didn't seem to be home. We hang the treat on the door knob, and went home. Marilyn was disappointed not seeing them. 5 minutes later, we found out that Olga was at our house to drop off a Valentine's day gift for us when we were knocking her door. How funny is that!

Snow kept falling down over night. This morning, it was a quite challenge to her to go out to release herself. The snow is light and fluffy, but it was easily on her height. She doesn't like to swim in the snow. "Mama, I did it! I'm a good girl."(Translated "Give me a treat!")

After her breakfast, she started bored. I heard "Booooo." from behind me. Yes, that's a cabin fever.

The snow reached the porch already. It's still coming down. It's very windy out. Hopefully we don't lose power and Marilyn's sanity.