My five year old is learning about the difference between "needs" and "wants" at school. I asked him how he thinks dogs should be categorized, and he quickly said "want." Well, I think for me they are a "need," haha.
I started begging my parents for a dog probably as soon as I could talk (maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but not much). I was 25 years old before I got to bring home a dog of my own. When we were living in Mississippi, my spouse surprised me with a trip to the humane society one afternoon. We were immediately drawn to a beagle mix right by the entrance, but decided to look around before making a decision. The whole time I was worried that someone else was going to adopt her while we were pretending we hadn't already found our dog. We brought her home and named her Sable. It turned out that we were at least her third home, even though she was a little less than a year and a half old.
After Mississippi, we moved to Hawaii. Sable had to go through a standard rabies quarantine period, but fortunately we had family members who were willing to take care of her until she could join us. Once we were reunited, she seemed kind of down and lonely, so we decided to look for another dog for her to play with. We went to the humane society multiple times looking for a good match, but she seemed to be more of a people dog than a dog dog. The deciding factor to adopt a hound mix was that they both simultaneously "pointed" at the staff member assisting us. We decided it was a sign that they were fated to be together.
We named her Bailey and found out that she had come in as a stray. We aren't sure she ever lived indoors with humans before. She was standing stiff-legged and extremely uncomfortable the whole way home in our Jeep. She was not house trained and didn't understand the concept of stairs. She lay curled up on the kitchen floor, refusing to engage with any of us, for weeks. She preferred to be outside laying in dirt and chewing on rocks, which was probably closer to the life she had known before. Eventually she warmed up to us and adjusted to a life of being spoiled.
These girls have been in our family for over 10 years. Even though we have human kids now, we refer to Sable and Bailey as our original babies. They have bonded and do everything together, and they are great foster sisters for the various animals who have crashed at our home since 2020. Sadly, Sable went to the Rainbow Bridge on November 13, 2023 and we all miss her very much.
Now that you know more about my permanent furry companions (as opposed to the temporary foster ones), you are invited to experience part of our neighborhood walk together to find this letterbox. Your starting point will be a stop sign that is our turnaround point on our shortest walks.
Step 1: Walk approximately 139 feet at an estimated bearing of 342 degrees. Your path will start more directly north and then curves slightly to the west.
Step 2: Walk approximately 334 feet at an estimated bearing of 269 degrees. Your path will curve slightly to the south, straighten out towards the west, and then curve slightly to the north.
Step 3: Walk approximately .214 miles at an estimated bearing of 359 degrees. Your path will start out with a slight curve to the east before straightening out to the north.
Step 4: The letterbox's host will be directly to the west and is visible from the sidewalk. You may even hear Sable's beagle howl to let you know you're in the right place. Please come on up and check it out.
The FTF prize is an unactivated "Tracker Gives Flowers Trackable Tag."
This letterbox has been placed with the homeowner's permission. Please respect the neighbors and only search for it during daylight hours.