I float in a cloud of silky cotton and puffy down. Morning beckons through the window, pale-yellow dawn peeping around the edges of the dark drapes. My fuzzy, golden-red Corgi boy Forrest nestles closer to my side and we breathe a simultaneous sigh. My fingers find his velvety head and gently trace its curves. I bask in sleep’s twilight and try to catch up to my recent dream. But it scampers just out of reach.
Beside me, I hear a quiet yip. Forrest’s snowy white paws begin to twitch. Breath quickening, his short legs pawing the air. The soft yips continue. He is not chasing his dream, he’s caught it! Perhaps he pursues an elusive cat or herds an errant sheep, but more likely, he dreams of his favorite waking pastime—running!
Fluffy fur flying, he zooms across the grass at full tilt. Amazingly fast, considering his stubby legs, he rockets along with his bunny-butt tucked under and his front paws high like a galloping pony. Akin to the wind, he zigs and zags, darting this way and that, going wherever the mood takes him. Utter bliss lights his eyes and a happy grin radiates from his face.
His joy is always infectious and this morning he herds me away from my own dream and into his. I’m running beside him—my hair flying, my arms and legs pumping. Together we sprint through a sea of green, sailing over gullies and soaring down hills. Joyful, free, alive! --Sue Ivy
Dogwood’s Enchanted Forrest
9/22/2000 – 3/14/12
Heart of my Heart
Love of my Life
Soul of my Soul
Forever in Joy
Running Free
