A Coincidence?

After hip replacement surgery, patients are limited by certain precautions to ensure the stability of the joint. One no-no is bending more than 90 degrees at the waist. Erin couldn't put her own sock on her right foot. No problem! Each morning before school, as she took her shower, her buddy Keenan patiently waited outside the bathroom door. After she dressed, she chose her pair of socks for the day and handed them to him. He then followed her down the stairs, proudly trotting behind, with tail (actually whole backside for those of you who know Keenan) wagging, and brought them to me. Goldens LOVE to be helpful and carry things! I would then take those slightly damp socks from his mouth and put the right one on her foot for her.

This little ritual became a very special part of each morning.

One particularly difficult day a couple of weeks ago, with memories of Erin consuming me, I sat curled up in my favorite chair, crying, just staring out the window. All of a sudden, Keenan came dashing down the stairs and ran up to me with a pair of Erin's socks in his mouth. Looking at him through tears of disbelief I said, "Oh Puppy! Where did you get these?" Her bedroom is as it was before she died. It will most likely stay that way for a long time. All of her clothes are in her closet and dresser, the socks in a closed drawer.

After looking more closely at the socks, I realized they were an old pair she had long ago donated to the Goodwill bag that resides in the deep recesses of Dave's and my closet - that part of the closet one chooses to ignore, sometimes for years! I went upstairs, with said-dog following closely behind, and discovered that sure enough, he had nosed his way into that previously ignored bag and had carefully chosen that pair of socks over other gently-used items; three pairs of shoes, sweaters (most likely from 1987), jeans that will probably be back in style soon, a couple pairs of gloves, a purse I thought was very cool until Erin gave me the "mom, really?" eye roll...
That bag had been in the back of the closet for months. How did Keenan know to go into it at that moment and get those socks?

If you've ever buried your pathetic, weeping face in the neck of a golden, you know their manes are more absorbent than the most expensive brand of tissue.
The pair of socks still sits in the corner of my chair.

Coincidence? I think not!