Missing on Memorial Day

Our family weekend in Alexandria was just wonderful. Andrew and Amy were so hospitable and their home is darling. The only thing missing was Zoe. A&A adopted her several years ago from a shelter, and her history, as Sherry would say, is laden with "issues," the nature of which are perhaps best left murky. When Zoe came to our house the first time, she removed a major piece of food from the kitchen counter and devoured it. Even though she was thorough about cleaning up after herself, she and I didn't exactly get off to the very best start.
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Over time, she started to grow on me. I noticed that her fur is very irregular -- some places are soft and velvety, other places are coarse, and then there is the ruff which just sort of stands out like a lion's mane. She's not a crazy quilt, because there is no fancy stitching, but clearly she is made from left-overs.
. . . .
She's very sweet, tries so hard to be obedient, and her response when Andrew tells her "Down!" is always instantly reflexive and cute. She's high strung, though, and with a houseful of people including a young baby, A&A decided she'd do well to spend the weekend at the canine Hilton. I'm sure this was the right decision. But we missed her nonetheless.