The other day I mentioned Suzanne Clothier's book, Bones Would Rain from the Sky. I'm still reading it. It's not a fast read because everything she says is so important; it's impossible to scan. In Chapter 5, "Walks With Dogs," she says, "We are, at every step, together, without the need for words, bound by the heart's invisible leash, unmistakably connected." I believe that everyone who loves a dog feels that...as do the dogs we love. Dogs are great at sensing what we are feeling--I don't care what the "experts" say. Even though I talked to Stinky Wink all the time (which makes the silence of his absence all the more deafening), our greatest communication was when we looked each other in the eye. It was that invisible leash. When he tugged, I looked, and when I tugged, he looked. That leash is not broken by death--theirs or ours. I talked to our breeder last night. She said that mama was in labor. I'm sure that Wink would want us to get another baby to love. Wink's presence moved from my heart and home, to my heart only. It will always abide there. But there is a vacancy in the home part. That needs to be filled--not to take love away from Wink, but to add yet another source and object of love. We miss you, Wink, but we are thankful that your suffering is over and that you are well again. We'll be together again one day, my besses puppo!