Day 9: Rest day in Missoula!

I did what I needed to do today...which was probably good, but it definitely wasn't what I wanted to do. I missed my kayak!!!!

All of the morning and a good part of the afternoon was dedicated to writing out my thank you cards. I also talked with Ellen for a while. She is a former FBI agent who lives in Florida. She is working on some kind of project about our mothers. It will be interesting to see what she writes...for the record, always add extra vanilla to your Toll House chocolate chip cookies.

Sometime during the afternoon, a dog came into the building and just laid down in the common room. I went over to it and patted it and gave it some water. She was hungry, too, but I had nothing to feed her. She followed me upstairs and all around. At six, Brian and I had agreed to go on a walk to the "M" on the hill, about a half hour "hike" (it wasn't STRAIGHT UP like New England trails...it had all these switchbacks!). Miss Dawg followed us all the way up and all the way back. It was hot - I gave her water out of my Nalgene. We also met two people who were at the Bikecentennial reunion - they'd gone coast to coast 30 years ago and we chatted for a bit, comparing notes about our different tours.

The dog was still with me. I tried called the humane shelters but being the fourth - SURPRISE! - they were all closed. I called the campus security, who did arrive promptly. The officer was kind...he even called NPR, which had had an announcement about a similar lost dog earlier in the evening. It was not of Miss Dawg, though...he assured me that he'd take care of her. I didn't cry, although I was close. Afterwards, I went back to the dinner making area and Brian & Moon & Paula & a couple of other people were there. They asked where the dog was, and I said that campus security had taken her. Brian started teasing me because I'd asked earlier if I knew of any no-kill shelters - he said not in his area, and Paula chimed in, "Not in my area either." I just looked up at both of them and said, "I didn't cry when they took her away." Miss Dawg DID remind me of my dog Madison...and I do so wish that she was here now!