Dogs, and why we love them. (Personality leakage)

How's your 2013? Mine seems to believe in getting all the nastiness done early on. So far this year, after replacing the entire pipe under the kitchen, I almost lost Sylvie, the sweetest seven year old Yorkipoo in the world. (Here pictured.)

Sylvie was recovering from knee surgery and wasn't doing well. She had not been her perky self, which we attributed to the surgery. However, she stopped eating on January 1, so we were watching her carefully and took her to the vet yesterday morning when she became really, really limp.

She's fine now; just has one of those metabolic disorders that's easily to treat but fatal if you don't, so there's not really an option.

I really thought I would wake up with strep throat this morning, but it's still just a tickle, so the year is already looking up!

This was so upsetting-- it was our first day back at school after break, so it was terrifically busy with students getting books, but I did find it hard to focus.

There have been a large number of books about dogs published this year. I really do think that this can be attributed to the effects of the bad economy and the uncertainty that many children feel. Dogs have such a power over us that even reading about them makes us feel better.

But adults also have the power to help students. In middle school, the library is frequently a safe place for students to share their problems. We need to be aware of this, even when things get busy. Just yesterday, I talked to a student whose dog had to be put down, two who lost grandparents, one who had to move to another community because of a parent job situation, and several with minor upsets with friends.

Clearly, when Sylvie gets better, I need to train her to be a Library Dog. If nothing else, it would make it easier for ME to get through the day.