This morning, I teach my short story class at Hubbard Hall and then head to Virginia, a nine-hour trek to pick up our new dog, Fate, a 10-week-old border collie from Dr. Karen Thompson, a friend and the owner of Thompson’s Border Collies. Karen has been breeding border collies for 40 years, she brought Red to me, she is a remarkable human being and I am excited to finally be meeting her. She has already changed my life once and is about to do it again.

Red is coming along. Tonight, we are staying with a friend in Pennsylvania, tomorrow we will head to New Kent Virginia. A new dog is a new chapter in our lives, it is ironic that we ended up with a border collie after all, but not surprising, I love the breed. This will be Maria’s dog more than mine, but a family dog as well.

From what I’ve seen and heard about her, she is a perfect match for Maria, they seem much alike.  She will learn to love fiber art. I hope Red will be a patient and loving big brother to her, I imagine he will. My wish is that Fate be a soul mate, a lifetime dog, for Maria in the way Red has become a soul mate and partner for me. I am excited to be training another puppy, dog training is my passion, and I have learned to be pretty good at it. I will share it all with you.

We will not be back until Monday or Tuesday, I’m not bringing my computer, I want to focus on the trip and the puppy and helping Maria with all of that driving. We have crates, food, water, ledes, treats. I am grateful to be moving forward with life, we thought long and hard about the next dog, we ended up in the right place. I’ll be checking in one way or another.

Maria and i are so happy to be doing this together, it is a manifestation of our commitment and love, a good place for any dog to be. She will surely end up as a chapter in my next book, “Talking To Animals,” I can’t wait to start the conversation. Thanks for coming along for the journey.