So long Hoke

We said goodbye to our family dog Hoke this past weekend. Actually, who am I kidding, he wasn't our family dog. He was Joe's dog. None of the rest of us really liked him. He was big and scary to the kids and I thought he was perhaps one of the grossest dogs created. He was a great hunting dog for Joe, but where we are going doesn't have near the number of birds that we have here. He is nine and needed to spend his last years on a farm and looking for birds. A funny thing happened though. As soon as we decided to give him away, we all were suddenly taken with him. The kids were in tears and I actually found a soft spot for him as he nuzzled up next to me before he left with his new family. Daddy comforted us all by promising a new family dog after we move and I truly do think this one will be for the whole family the whole time we have him--not just when we say goodbye.