The calm after the snowstorm

I left off saying that we had found a home for Snowflake.

My husband & I spent a beautiful week with her. She was blossoming. Her confidence was improving and more than anything else, she looked happy. When Saturday drew nearer...a feeling of dread settled in... I was going to miss this dog. I remember sitting in my apartment complex, watching her roll on the grass and thinking how this would be the last time she would do that.... how empty my life would seem after the furor she had created. But go she had to. Saturday came sooner than I thought and Anusha (Snowflake's mom to be ) came to get Snow... both my husband and I were teary eyed from a night of no sleep and a lot of crying.

I don't know what it was but Snowflake knew immediately that something was happening and that she would leave soon. She had taken over this easy chair in our house and claimed it as her own in the week that she was with us.... and almost as if it was her safe haven, she jumped onto it and sat there believing that if she sat there, she'd be able to stay forever.

Anusha and her friend (who had come to help her take Snowflake) saw the connection instantly and even suggested we keep the dog. But we knew we couldn't.... Anusha hugged her, cuddled her... and she was happy about that but through it all... she just looked at me, eyes steady, not blinking... and we spoke. I know all of you are probably rolling your eyes now but really - we spoke.Through our eyes. Mine all bleary from the tears and hers, stoic and unbelievably sad. She willed me to not do what she knew I was about to do....and before my resolve melted, I let her go.

But nothing prepared either me or my husband for what was to follow! After a night of crying and no sleep, we were in for another.... and I'm telling you - it felt like my heart was aching. There was a physical ache! My husband was howling like a baby! We spent the whole night texting Anusha asking her how Snowflake was, had she eaten, had she taken her medicines, was she crying....sigh..... We finally stopped texting her at 3am and settled down to a restless night. At 10am the next morning, my husband asked me rather sheepishly " Do you think it will be horrible if we asked for her back?" We were both worried. It was not a very nice thing to do to Anusha but we realised that this quiet, unassuming dog had gotten under our skin and we were more lost without her that she was without us! So my husband called Anusha who said she understood completely and asked us to come and get her....I swear, it felt like I had breathed for the first time in 24 hours!

Without wasting a moment or even giving anything else a thought, we jumped into the car and drove to Chennai, stopping only for a cup of coffee on the way.

I'm telling you, the reunion was something from a movie!LOL! Snowflake saw us and went crazy!!! I burst out crying and my husband looked suspiciously misty eyed too. Even our driver was howling!! LOL! Our baby was finally coming home. We drove back the same evening and finally reached home at 3am... tired but very very happy.

Snowflake knew she was home too and the first thing she did was jump into her chair! She's home now and as each day goes by, she's becoming more and more our little princess :-)