Fate loves the woods, she chases chipmunks, she chases Red, she chases squirrels, she tears through the woods, eats awful things, digs a hole or two, and always stops at Maria’s favorite trees and waits for her. She never runs off or gets too far ahead of us, if we lag, she sits down and waits for us. She is happy in the woods, she can run free, explore things, can be herself.

I am happy that we can give our dogs the lives they were meant to live in many ways, sometimes she and Maria go off into the woods together for long walks, and when Maria sits down to think or sketch or meditate, Fate curls up at her feet and stays with her.

As we hoped, they are perfect match for one another, bright, independent, restless. They just get one another, as dogs and people sometimes do.