The birth of an animal lover

You know, I 've never been much of an animal lover. Even as a young girl, I never fawned over kittens and puppies, and horses never held any magical appeal. In fact, they have always been kind of scary to me. I loved one dog growing up. Her name was Buttons, an ugly poodle mix we rescued from the pound. She slept on my bed and I felt real affection for her. When she died, I never connected with another dog, or cat for that matter, and other people's pets just annoyed me. Emma is just the opposite. For all of her young life she has been crazy about animals. Dogs and horses especially. She'll look at books, she'll daydream, play pretend and beg for her own. We decided that maybe it was time for us to get her a dog last summer. We agreed, anything but a beagle. And then Ken surprised us with Sassy, a cute little black ball of fun. And yes, you guessed it, a beagle (black lab mix). I decided then and there that this dog was going to be a blessing to me and my family if it was the last thing I ever did. And after spending time training her and even praying for her, I can say I feel affection toward her like I did toward Buttons. She's a part of the family now.
Enter the horses. Today was our second lesson, and I was not nearly as nervous this time. I was even excited and happy to see Dayo. As I brushed her at the end of the lesson, I discovered some of that magical appeal that horses have for Emma. The personality and the sense of friendship I had with this horse surprised me. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to learn about these beautful animals with my daughter.
She'll make an animal lover out of me yet.