Full Circle...

Many years ago, before we moved to Maine, I bought a pretty little Standard Poodle and named her "Dazzle." About a month after she came to live with me her breeder called and asked if I'd like to buy her litter mate brother. I didn't want or need another dog, so told her "no." The woman said, "No one has bought him and I live in a condo, he spends almost all his time in a crate." I looked at active, bouncy, Dazzle and felt very sad for her imprisoned brother. But I held firm. A week later the woman called again, "You can have him for free," she said, "but he really needs to go." She told me how depressed he was. I caved, drove 4 hours to Nashville and brought him home. We named him Tango. My plan was to introduce this beautiful dog to friends and customers, and surely someone would want him. Unfortunately, he was poorly socialized and had some behavior problems, and no one wanted to make him their own. What he loved the best was to ride with me in my mobile van while I worked. He was in his element there.

He liked it when we moved to Maine... there was the big field to run in and the large fenced yard. He ran and bounced and barked. A lot. He missed going to work with me since I wasn't doing mobile grooming any more. I had a lot of dogs at the time, and never felt that Tango and I had bonded. It occurred to me that he might be happier in a different home. With great hesitation I reached out to the mobile grooming community to see if anyone might want a poodle. A nice woman responded, and in no time she and her husband drove to Maine from Connecticut to claim him. This ended up being a wonderful union, Tango loved her and she loved him. He had a long, happy life with her.

My friend contacted me recently and said she was going to be in Maine and had a favor to ask. She had Tango's ashes and wondered if she could sprinkle them here, in the meadow where he loved to run.



She brought the wooden box containing his remains and we walked out into the pasture, with the horse and goats and dogs that are still on this earthly plain, and my friend sprinkled him where he used to love to explore and do his pretty poodle dance. He came full circle. Welcome home, Tango.