A Small Brag

A few months ago, there was a post on Greytalk, a greyhound message board that I frequent, by the editor of Celebrating Greyhounds.  They were asking for essays about how your greyhound has inspired you.  I thought I'd give it a shot and see what happened.  I worked on what I wanted to say for a little while and sent it off.  Honestly, I heard some of the other stories that people had to tell and I figured I didn't have a shot at getting accepted.  One man told about how his greyhound had inspired him to beat cancer.  I didn't have anything nearly that earthshaking.  I put it in the back of my mind and went on with life.

Imagine my shock and surprise when I got an e-mail back saying that my article had been chosen.  I couldn't believe it.  I was asked to write a short biography and find a good photo of Treat, who was the dog I wrote the essay about.  Finding a good picture of her was nearly my undoing.  They needed a picture of her that was at least 300dpi.  The digital camera that we had most of the time while we had Treat did not take photos that were of very high quality.  I was frantic to find a good photo.  In desperation, I e-mailed Mark Caughel, who took some wonderful photos of her while we were at Dewey Beach on vacation a few years ago and asked for permission to use a photo he'd taken.  He sent me the digital file and graciously gave permission for his photo to be used. 

When we went to the post office today, my issue of the magazine was finally here.  I opened it, and there Treat was, looking amazing.  I'll admit, I missed her again for a few moments.  It is a cool feeling to see my words about her in print and know that other people will read them.  The whole process gave me time to reflect on how I've grown as a person since we brought Treat home.  For people who are curious, I did not get paid for the article.  Celebrating Greyhounds is run to raise money to help more greyhounds get adopted, so profits made go towards that end.  That is fine with me, it's just another small legacy she leaves behind.  I'm just happy that a journey we began almost exactly ten years ago has come to this point.  Her gift keeps on giving.  It's yet another gift left for me by her in this wonderful holiday season.