Hobbes goes to yet another dog show (or Mom gets a vacation!)

Hobbes is a very busy boy!  He has made the rounds to more dog shows than all of our other four-legged children combined.  Kinda amazing, considering the baggage (literally and figuratively) he has to tote with him!  This show, however, was a special one for him.  Tom decided to take Hobbes back to the Finnish Lapphund national specialty held in Massachusettes a couple of weeks ago.  That meant packing up the box, his x-pen, crate, jello, meatballs, and all his meds, along with the things my husband would need for two days away from home.

Hobbes got to see some of his brothers and sisters, and was the center of attention (at least for some, including a young man who is 7 and three-quarters years old) when Tom pulled out Hobbes' box and fed him in the arena during the show.  By all accounts, Hobbes was a wonderfully-behaved boy (obviously putting on a show for his adoring fans, because he is nothing if not bratty at home!)  Tom noted that even Hobbes' breeder commented on how well trained he is (snort!)  We can attribute this to Hobbes being way out of his element.  He behaved equally as well at the Sammy national show last September.

The day after the show, because the drive back was so long, Tom made arrangements to stop at his sister's home in New Jersey to feed Hobbes lunch.  So yet another group of our family, including Hobbes' human cousins Marissa and Jason, got to meet the special boy. 

Enough about Hobbes--in his absence, I got a vacation!!!  Since his diagnosis almost a year ago, Hobbes has been a constant in my life.  I am certainly not minimizing all the help Tom gives, but I tend to internalize things more than he.  So, much of my mental and physical energy has been expended figuring out how to handle Hobbes' condition, and then actually managing it.  For two and a half days, I didn't have to feed him, worry about him eating grass--any of the things I am concerned about on a daily basis.  What a relief!  I even got to sleep in until 8 a.m. on Saturday--unheard of with Hobbes at home!

So, Saturday evening  Hobbes came home.  Did he miss his sisters?  You bet!  Did they miss him?  Probably not so much.  Did I miss him?  Yes--but I will admit that those 48 hours were a slice of heaven.