Apparently today is National Dog Day. Well we have dog. His name is Trooper (because of course it is.) When we went to the shelter, we told the kids “we will take a long time to find the right dog for us so don’t get your hopes up.” But Trooper, he had just come up for adoption that day, after being found months before rooting through dumpsters downtown. And he just sat there, while the rest barked around him, and watched us. He looks like a Border Collie. Maybe a bit like a Burmese…. Eh, he’s a dog. I only hoped Dh would be kind. He’s not a pet person, and neither am I, really. I worried how it would go over. About 6 months in, he said “you know how some veterans get dogs to help them reintegrate from war?’ And I said “yes…” Not wanting to go all social work-y and ruin the uncharacteristic moment of sharing. He said “I can see that.” And then we said nothing else, and he took Trooper to the park to throw the ball until he was too tired to make it home. And 5 years later, they’re still a team. Trooper herds my kids. He follows Freckles, and sleeps in his bed. And he loves Dh. He has gotten under his skin, and he is sometimes exactly what is needed when I even I didn’t know what to do. We rescued a dog. Sometimes, though, dogs save us…