Reunited

This kind of sums it up: a little wild, a little crazy yet completely fun.

We live in a designated Nation Historical Site, inside and out.
We live with up to 23 people.
Thus it follows we do not live in a place suitable for a dog.

Fortunately we have good friends. In August, shortly before Audrey and I moved to Ottawa, our friends Mark and Kerala agreed to keep Nemes for us. They would love to have a dog but aren't able to commit to one. Since we're committed to a dog but can't have him live with us it worked out perfectly. We needed them, they needed us. They live a half an hour walk away so we (at least Audrey and I) can visit Nemes on a regular basis.

We originally hoped to bring Nemes out in September but through a random series of events and our going to Oregon for Christmas, we had to wait. But last Tuesday our waiting came to an end. Nemes arrived and life was as it should be, almost. We spent a lot of time with him that day and it was wonderful. We are definitely still his people and he is still Audrey's puppy. We played, cuddled and he took Audrey's torments. At one point she was playing with a box of tissue while Nemes lay next to me on the couch, trying to get some sleep after his red-eye flight. Audrey stood in front of him with a hand full of tissue and rubbed it in his face, delighted. He glared at her and scooted closer to the back of the couch. Typical siblings.

But then the sad part came. We had to go home and he didn't come with us. Mark and Kerala were already in love with him (who wouldn't be?) so we knew he was in good hands but he wasn't in our hands. He wouldn't sleep on our bed, wake us up to go out in the morning or sit with us on our sofa. The best part of having a dog is just having him about but that's just what we don't get. No impromptu play times or snuggle sessions. But he is a short ways across the city, not the other side of the continent like he had been. So we will count our blessings and find comfort in the fact that this is temporary and one day he will live with us again. Until that day we will enjoy him in doses and be thankful there are two more people to love on him just as much as we do.