So this is the first real entry. Well, not counting the “About” thing.

It really just hit me this morning; for the past couple of months I’ve been sleeping really well, and by that I mean only waking up twice a night instead of ten. It’s also been a bit easier to go to bed in the first place. On a good night, I might lay down at 23:00, whereas before I’d consider 01:00 an accomplishment.

The difference it seems, is Cammy, our newest addition to the family. As it happens, I’ve been surrounded by German Shepherds since literately before I could walk. The first was Suppy. I gave her the name when I was eight months old. Must have been going for “Snoopy”, but my mother went with what came out. Poor dog. Through the years there was Kissy, Jackie, Whistle, Bret, Sybil, Moose, Chong, Zero, Shauna, Rambo, Shady, G.G., Hanzou, and Hixon. Each and every one was a dear friend, in some ways far closer then any humans I knew.

When the last generation died off I cried like a baby for the first time in twenty years. Sure there is Spike and Coco now, but that’s in Morehead and they aren’t mine.

For a lot of reasons I wish sometimes I could go “home”; just one more time I’d like to run up that driveway, backpack in tow and be tackled by a flurry of paws, tongues and fur. Of course, those days are long gone and there are more pertinent things to think about. Still, having Cammy is like having a little piece of home back. Just like all the others before, Cammy will never replace the hole they left, but has already made a place of her own. She’s long since won over Nichole, who before had always been scared of so called “big” dogs.

It’s also great knowing she’s there to help watch over Nichole and the kids just like the previous generations helped watch over me. That’s no small comfort, and for that I can look forward to getting six a night for the first time in fifteen years.

DC