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When I started this blog many moons ago, I wanted to explore the intersections between Merwin (the dog) and Merwin (the poet). News flash - there aren't many intersections. Or maybe there are infinite intersections. Regardless, for almost eight years now, Merwin and Merwin has been home to poems, doggy adventures and photos (just a few), rants, raves, and lots and lots of sunset pics. Merwin (the dog) was obviously an enormous part of that.
But now we have some new inspiration. On August 1, I saw a Petfinder listing for Charles, a 10-week old Springer Spaniel/labrador mix. He was adorable (obviously). I asked Simon what he thought and we decided to submit an application. 22 minutes later a volunteer from his rescue organization called and approved us. Last night we made the trip to his foster mom's house in Westford, Massachusetts to meet him. 30 minutes later, we made the return trip with "Charles" hanging out next to me in the back seat of the Golf.
As you know from our experience naming Merwin, we don't take these kinds of decisions lightly. This time we thought it through ahead of time. For years, I wanted a dog named Ranger in honor of the New York Rangers. Once again, this guy didn't seem like a Ranger. Instead, we found it fitting to stick with the poetry theme. Mary Oliver has recently emerged as another of my favorite poets, initially introduced to me by MJ a number of years ago. In a nod to both of our departed friends and in celebration of a wonderful female poet, we named this little mystery mutt Ollie.
Raising a puppy is a novel thing as Merwin came to us as a one-year old senior citizen. It has been a little bittersweet since we got home last night, but I think that will sweeten as we learn his personality and start to discover the quirks that make him Ollie (um weird water drinking habits perhaps?). I'm sure it will be challenging as we allow Merwin to fade into the background of our hearts a bit (and try to keep our shoes from Ollie's teeth), but I'm also sure the experience will remind me of the incredible joy and love humans can find in companionship with animals. I've missed that feeling. Bring it on, Ollie!
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