I often wonder when Pearl visits if this will be the last time I see her. I think she is not quite ready to leave us. Pearl a champion Lab from Vermont, has arthritis in her two Titanium rear legs, yet she seems energetic, very focused on food and affection. Here eyes are still powerful, even radiant and she still has the bearings of a champion show dog. After seven years in Brooklyn, she seems very much at ease here on the farm while my daughter Emma goes on vacation for a month. She eats politely with the other three dogs and seems to love to hang out in the back yard with Frieda and Lenore. Red, of course, ignores her.

Pearl is a simple creature, the essence of the Yellow Lab, smart about what she needs to be smart about, oblivious to everything else. I’m glad she will be here for the Open House next Sunday, she will join Lenore in greeting the visitors.

Pearl’s legs can’t handle going up the stairs, but she is happy keeping me company when I write. I have a lot of dogs for company when I work now, Pearl to my left, Red right behind me, Frieda just outside the door, Lenore on her couch. If the love of dogs really carries a writer, I am riding a tidal wave to glory. Pearl, as always, loves the camera. She was not a two-time national champion for nothing.