The final stretch

Would she have been a Hell's Angel, in another life?

Steve and I returned from our travels Monday evening, and within minutes of getting home, Steve picked up Dionne from the valiant couple who had agreed to host her. (They were scheduled to depart for China the very morning after our scheduled return!) They told him they had greatly enjoyed having her and gave him their written "puppysitter feedback" report. In it they said Dionne had adjusted "very well" in the first few hours of her visit. But they also noted she was "a little unpredictable" with other pets at times and "tends to jump up on people and get very excited."

I felt a rush of pleasure at seeing Dionne again. She's a beautifully proportioned dog with a coat like polished ebony. She seemed exuberant to be back home with us. And we were reminded of what a Presence she is. She's not some fixture, like a carpet, that you barely notice. If she were a teenager, she'd probably be racing motorcycles.

Worse, she doesn't appear to have settled down yet, as Steve and I have kept hoping she would. Late yesterday as I was resting on the couch (battling a bad cold and jet lag), she leapt up and landed on me, on all fours. This hurt, and I was annoyed. This morning, she came to the side of our bed and barked. Several times. It was a command: time to get up and play!

We're feeling a sense of despair; at this point, we cannot imagine her making it as a service dog. We can envision her as a drug-detection dog, maybe
-- but as far as we know, they have to be good at returning toys, whereas Dionne's fondest game in life is still keep-away.

Turn-In is just six weeks from tomorrow. Unless some miracle happens, we're expecting to get The Call from Stu in record time...