Papillons

My sister is due home in Boston with her new papillon today. He has been in foster care through Pap Haven in Florida. 9 months old and from the sound of it, full of intelligence, fun and beans….
She spent last night in a grungy hotel in Gainesville with the little guy who was eager to make friends but confused and a little worried about where his foster mom was. My sister didn’t sleep at all well, as he barked whenever he heard a sound in the hallway and kept running to the door to see if it was Judy come back for him. I am so freaked out, she said to me on the phone at 1am EST…Funny, you don’t sound freaked out…I said. She sounded like she was in love…and the freaked out part was just an old habit, the expected response in such a situation. They should be home about now and I’m anxious to hear how it all unfolds…. I’m happy for them and for Maggie, her other papillon (that's Maggie's picture above) …because even if she’s got her little culottes in a twist over this teenage invader…he will give her more to think about and to do and I have no doubt that they will become friends. In my experience, papillons truly enjoy the company of other papillons and incidents are rare.
It is such an exciting time…these days when you bring a new dog into your life, full of possibility and promise. And for some, I think the anxiety and fear are just as high.
I remember the day I went to get Flynn as the first time I was singularly joyful. Utterly happy. Absolutely positive. It remains one of the great days of my life, especially paired with the day 2 weeks prior when Debbie Wood and I drove up to LaRen to see who might be available to be my first papillon. Turned out Cinnamon, the girl I had met in January and felt a special affinity for (see Aug 07) felt similarly and so became Flynn with very little to-do. She remains my familiar, my soul mate, the most enchanting creature I know.
I think in the midst of all this collie magic I have neglected to say how much papillons mean to me. If collies are, for me, the mythic Ur dogs, then papillons are the 7 dwarfs to my Snow White, little space aliens in dog suits, silky angels with tiny feet and teeth, gremlins, ancient jesters that can sing like monkeys and imitate the sound of wolves howling from very far away. Toy border collies, cats in dog bodies. I adore them and cannot imagine ever not living with them.
Right now the three of them form little sprawls scattered across the quilt. One is snoring, inviting me to come back into sleep, to curl up with them in the little dream box and sigh contentedly…just to be here with them in the world.