[Dailydrool] A thoughtful gift

[Valerie via Dailydrool]

Since our Harley of Hawaii passed away last month, I have had my good days and my bad days. I miss him terribly and get tearful often. For the nine years that he lived with us (he was three when he came to live with us), every night Harley slept beside me with some part of his furry self touching some part of me. Every morning when I opened my eyes Harley wriggled up to my shoulders and rolled over on his back in the crook of my arm, upside down with his head on my chest, in the perfect position for morning bellyrubs before breakfast. So nights have been especially hard.

This week I went into my bedroom to find a gigantic plush "hound" on my bed. It is not exactly a basset--it's body looks like a bear and it's head a bit like "Clifford the Big Red Dog"' all in brown, but clearlyit is hound-ish. It is about five feet long and three feet around and takes up half the bed. This fellow is soft as velvet and totally squishable/huggable, and really quite irresistable. Anyone lying next to it has to put her arms around it and hug it close. And it helps. I hug the newcomer at night and fall asleep with my face in its fur. It is wonderful. I thank my husband Bill, who is also wonderful. I have not named the plush dog yet. Val vlbzwick at yahoo.com