I have to say that the Iraq War has really been dragging me down.  The daily reports of suicide bombs, the resulting deaths of civilians and soldiers, the amount of money being funneled into the effort and not only our price we have to pay, but the burden our sons, daughters and grandchildren will carry on their shoulders in the years to come.  It’s all very depressing.  So when things get a little down in the dumps what better to cheer our spirits than gazing into the eyes of a little puppy.

Six Iraqi puppies are currently going through training at the Rancho Coastal Humane Society, while they wait for their owners to return from Iraq.  Right now the bounding little furballs are under the strict hand of Graham Bloem who runs a puppy boot camp in efforts to socialize them with people, other animals and the environment around them.  Being a puppy owner myself, I can tell you, this is no easy task.  Gorbie, who makes his official debut in this blog tonight, is all about himself and his world-which at the moment consists of his bed, his food dish, his many toys, the couch, our pillows, our cell phones, keys, magazines and his favorite, his pinecones, which he joyfully collects and then buries in our yard, after he’s dug up my bulbs.  So you see, in the eyes of a puppy, everything is about him.  It’s the “me” attitude.  He wants everything and anything, and most often he gets it when my back is turned.

So I guess, in the end…as I watch the stocks fall, people rant about comments made by an angry pastor, who incidentally has nothing to do with this election, Bush bumble around about how everything is just fine, and Cheney proclaiming that Iraq was a success the same day that 40 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack, I can gaze down at the big, bright eyes of Gorbie, with his tail wagging and his tongue licking the air.  Little do I know of course that he has just swallowed a $20 bill.