We have three wonderful dogs, two rescue dogs, spanning two generations. Rio, the two year old, was rescued from Hurricane Floyd's floods at 3 mos of age and is a true Survivor, a bundle of Lab/Pointer energy that keeps our older dogs, "sweetest dog" Motley Crue (Plotthound, age 9) and our "first born", Dusty (Foxhound,almost 11), on their toes! There's a star in the sky that appears each clear evening over the orchard in back of our house, just to the left of the moon. We sit out there summer nights listening to the birds, chasing lightning bugs and pondering in general the meaning of life in our back yard. This is, I tell the boys, "their" star -- it will always be there, and no matter where we are, all we have to do is look at it and they are with us! Dusty,our oldest, is in what I call "twilight," that whisp of time when the rush of day isn't quite ready to surrender to the sleepy night. The years have been kind to him but he's quite ill, getting ready to undergo some tests, and we aren't optimistic. For now there's still a lot of barking and bossing to be done -- it's less intense, though, and he's grudgingly allowed to Rio to begin to "lead the pack" into the fuure. There's a softer light in Dusty's eyes, a lighter gait to his step, and settling over us, like a long summer evening, is the knowledge that in the not too distant future, twilight will give way to that restful night for dear Dusty. Every night before he goes to sleep I sing him a lullaby, as I do the others when they are restless, and it seems to calm them... it goes something like this. "Twinkle, twinkle Dusty's star, shining on us from afar - High above the trees you fly, With the angels in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, Dusty's star, I'll always know where you are." Pick a star for your canine friend... no matter where you go, what you do, all you'll have to do to give them a loving "ear rub" is look up and wink ;)