I caught my mom packing the suitcase. I looked right at her and barked. “Make sure you pack my things,” I told her. She listened.
She packed my water bowl and food bowl. And of course, my food. She even packed my portable bed. Best of all, she packed my treats. She’s a good mom.
That was my first vacation with Mom. We had two.
First we went to visit friends of Mom’s. We drove a long time. Sometimes it was scary because there were big trucks on the road. They made really loud noises when they went past us. I liked it better when we were on the quieter roads. Mom calls them country roads.
We went to a place called Oxford, Ohio. I met Aunti Carole and Uncle Michael. I like them. A lot.
We went for long walks. Mom said our walks made us smarter. Because we walked on a college campus. It’s called Miami University. It was pretty. At night we stayed in a room with Aunti Carole. I liked our vacation.
We took an even longer car ride on our second vacation. We went to a place called Warren, Ohio. We stopped to take walks on our way. We walked near the woods. Still sometimes those big trucks made noise. I don’t like big noisy trucks.
We took another walk when we stopped. A nice lady, Aunti Marge, told us where to walk so there wouldn’t be any big noisy trucks.
Later we were inside a great big room. I was allowed to walk around. Everyone loved me. That’s ‘cause I’m so lovable. And pretty. My Aunti Jenny helped keep a watch on me. I think everyone else was watching me too. I met lots of new Auntis, Aunti Donna and Aunti Sharon and Aunti…well, lot of Auntis.
One of the women named Bev said there were a lot of sad people there. That’s sad because it was a big, big room and lots of people. Bev said I was making all the people feel better. They came to hear my mom talk and ask her to give them messages about people they love who had crossed the rainbow bridge. That’s what my mom does. Help people feel better.
I helped Mom give people messages. That made them all feel better. I like helping Mom. I liked making people feel good.
That night we stayed all night with Aunti Jenny and Uncle Paul. They are really really nice. I even let Aunti Jenny hold my leash. Not that I need a leash. Mom said I had to have it on because we were far away from home.
Aunti Jenny let me jump up on the sofa and sit near her and Mom. They talked and talked. I got really really sleepy. They just kept talking anyway. Uncle Paul was smart. He was already in bed.
Finally, after forever we went to bed. I slept on my travel bed right next to Mom on her big bed. And I watched her all night long. Well okay, I slept too. But I slept near Mom. I protected her. Who know a ghost might come to disturb her sleep. And that’s my job. To protect Mom. And to make everyone who is sad happy.