by Maggie Sefton

I'll be choosing a July Book Giveaway winner this week and will notify them via email.  So check your email, everyone.  And My earlier book giveaway if still scheduled.  This awful Lockdown has slowed everything.  Grrrrrrrrr........                                                                                

I hope all of our Cozy Chicks Blog readers are surviving this stressful "Lockdown" situation we're all experiencing.  I'm here in Northern Colorado with sunshine and great weather but bored beyond belief.  Like most of you, I'm not used to being told I can't go here or there and having to avoid shopping areas and all of that.  

I promise I will not use this space to whine  or complain (too much).  Instead, I thought I'd use today as a "Catch Up Day."  

First, I'll start with the sad news that my sweet 17-year-old Black Lab mix Katy passed across that bridge where all our loved pets go at the end of their lives.  I'm convinced Katy picked her time to leave.  She was living her life enjoying my comfortable fenced back yard with many trees and greenery.  Many thick bushes lined one fence where I'm sure Katy pretended to be in a "jungle."  She would explore it as if it was new every morning.  Then, three weeks ago, after her usual morning routine, Katy came inside and settled down on her favorite thick doggie cushioned bed.  I noticed, of course, and my Instinct directed me to sit beside her, which I did.  Katy rarely settled down so early in a day.  

Katy lay on her comfy cushioned bed the rest of the day.  She didn't sleep, she simply lay there and would respond when I stroked her or patted her.  I stayed until the night came and I fell asleep.  Katy was still awake.  And she was awake at 5:00am the next morning when I woke up and checked on her.  I had to abandon the hard floor and sleep on a nearby sofa.  Katy stayed awake for a few more hours then closed her eyes.  She slowly drifted off after that.  

I'm so glad my daughter Melissa was here to join me and be with Katy later in the evening after she finished work.  It was Melissa who took Katy to our Vet's office after Katy drew her last breath.  I'm so grateful for her help.  I don't think I could have managed that last appointment very well.   There's a photo of Katy on my lap taken many years ago in the vet's offce.  Katy  was fortunate to enjoy a happy life living in a home and yard that she loved.  I am grateful for that as well.  

When we all think back over the years and all our beloved doggies and kitties that have been a part of our lives, I believe that most of us are grateful that we've had these wonderful pets to share our lives.  I knpe I am.  Thank you Carl I, Carl 2,  Sampson,  Jasmine, Max, and Beloved Katy.  Goodbye to all of you.

Well. . .I think that does it for me today.  I don't beleive I have anything left to say.  Let's all keep sending out our wishes and hopes for a Coronavirus vaccine.  Hope is on our horizon.