A Philosophical Question

It's been tough lately and once again, I really have to thank all of you.  The Internet is full of miserable stuff, but this blog community is really quite remarkable. You folks never cease to amaze me and you are why I keep writing.  Thank you.

To answer the one question about Tanner and Moss possibly having been poisoned somehow....I do not think so.  I think the only poison they got into is the same poison in us all - they got old.  It is a dog's one true fault that they do not live long enough and that's true for cats as well.  The average lifespan of a border collie is 12 years.  Tanner died four weeks shy of his twelfth birthday.  Most of his 6 brothers are all still doing well.  Although one died several years ago from cancer and the rest have all slowed down and become old men.  Scout battles arthritis and can't climb my stairs.

Moss had health issues since the day she got here.  She came to me loaded with every parasite you can think of.  She also had two severe injuries that I know of in her previous life - she was run over by a truck and she was trampled by a draft horse, both of which nearly killed her.  She crawled off to die after each accident, but somehow, she just didn't.  Add to that the burden of innumerable litters of kittens and chronic starvation - all those things take their toll.  She was not a young cat when she came here 6 years ago.

The timing stinks, but it is what it is.

So, time to move forward.  Time to think about the question everyone has been very politely NOT asking:

"Is Kris gonna get a new dog?" 

Maybe.  Probably.  I'm thinking about it.  I've been thinking about dogs a great deal lately - rescue dogs, shelter dogs, purebred dogs, mutts....

I've been looking around, doing some research.  Most of that is worth several blog posts all by itself if I can find the time and words to write about it.  The current world of shelter politics and marketing is.....interesting/disturbing.  Sad.  Always sad.

There are some good reasons not to get a dog at all.  I always leave my dog with FB when I am at work as I don't think dogs should have to be home alone for 9-10 hours at a time.  Doing that adds 20 miles a day to my already 70 mile commute.  I don't have cats in the house because I am allergic to them.  My allergy doc thinks I shouldn't have any animals in the house.  Actually, he thinks I should get rid of all my animals, sell my farm and live in a bubble.  One really shouldn't pay too much attention to doctors.  They're awfully depressing.

In the end though, I always circle back to the same old philosophical question:

If a life goes on without the company of a dog, is it any life at all? 

I suspect that if you happen to be the kind of person who understands that question, the answer will be self-evident.