February 20, 2017

White Dog suddenly pushed my hand away and then sniffed it suspiciously. I had been petting her while I worked at the computer, not totally focused on her but finding comfort in her fur beneath my hand. Her sudden rejection made me look down.

She looked up at me, concerned. I didn't get it. WD pawed at my wrist and poked me with her nose. I drew my hand up to my keyboard but still did not immediately see what she was attempting to tell me.

With a sigh, the Little White Dog of My Heart stood on my leg and grabbed my wrist gently. If she could have with the mouthful of me also said something, it would have been a huge "DUH!"

On my right wrist I wear a leather band that says, "Be Brave." Above it I wear a yellow collar that says, "She believed she could so she did."  It was the yellow piece that concerned her.

Over time, this metal engraved plate has been worn on a leather thong, a braided thread band, and a metal bracelet. None proved to be durable enough for constant wear. A while back, when the last wrap broke, YoYoMa suggested that I needed a dog collar; his, he pointed out, has been his accessory for all of the years he has been a member of the White Dog Army. The others laughed at the notion of momma with a collar but he got me to thinking.

Next time I went to the pet boutique I looked at collars...and found a kitten collar that perfectly fit my wrist. I brought it home and handstitched the metal plate to the collar and snapped it around my wrist. The WDA was seriously pleased at my solution and the connection it made, abstractly, to them. I added a charm to the leash loop reminding my that "My Story Isn't Over Yet" and my "collar" now even jingled like those worn by the Army.

White Dog's reaction today was her attempt to let me know that the threads holding one side of the plate to the band had broken through and was swinging precariously; it would not take much for the other side to fail and my talisman would be lost.

I am not sure whether the look of relief on her face as I swiveled and reached for the sewing kit was that the repair would be accomplished promptly or that she had FINALLY gotten me to to understand.