Ollie (the dog)

Losing Merwin left a deep void, and I started looking for a new dog almost immediately. As time passed, the need became less urgent, but I couldn't tear myself away from Petfinder. On our way home from family vacation in Northern Wisconsin in August 2018, I came across the listing for Charles, a 10-week old "springer spaniel/labrador" mix. He was obviously adorable and we decided to submit an application. 22 minutes later, the rescue organization had contacted our vet, talked with our landlord, and approved our application. Two days later we were on our way down to Massachusetts to meet Charles. Half an hour later, he was in the backseat of our car on our way home to Portsmouth. 

The name "Charles" wasn't really our style, and we had narrowed it down to Ranger and Oliver/Ollie prior to adopting. While I've always wanted a dog named Ranger, we opted instead to stick with the poetry theme. Mary Oliver has 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 an iconic female poet, we named this little mystery mutt Ollie. 

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