Colleen

In "Animal Happiness," Vicki Hearne wrote, "There are mighty dogs, the dangerous kind who take hold of your heart and do not let go. But avoiding the great ones does not get you out of it. If, like the boy in (the children's story) Algonquin, you already know what a great dog is, then the knowledge marks you. If you do not know, then you are still in danger, for if you give her a civilized upbringing, every dog is Lassie herself, killing that snake in your heart, driving off the cougar that lurks there, sending for help." That is what Colleen was to me. I lost her at around the age of 15, last December. There will be other dogs, but never another like her.