Back home after dogsitting

We’ve been in northwest Indiana for more than a week, taking care of our granddog Wrigley.

Wrigley, a lovable four-year-old Mini Goldendoodle, lives with our daughter Bridget and son-in-law Branden. They entrusted Wrigley to us while they visited Japan for the first time.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. And Wrigley got spoiled even more than ever by Mary and me as we took her on long walks (we picked up her poop), played ball with her in the back yard, fed her kibbles and lots of treats, and she even jumped into bed with us at the end of the day.

I hope Peach the Newshound doesn’t read this. She may get jealous of her cousin.

Like so many pets, Wrigley doesn’t seem to know she’s not a human. She certainly expects human treatment. Dogs are so endearing, giving unconditional love. You leave Wrigley alone for a half hour and when she sees you she goes crazy with excitement and kisses. Same thing first thing in the morning. What a way to greet the new day!

We never had pets for Bridget and Justin when they were kids. Now we’re making up for lost time.

DURING Bridget’s and Branden’s travels throughout Japan, they had dinner in Hiroshima with Storm Lake native Olen Peterson and his family: wife Mika, son Sena and daughter Kana.

Olen and Mika teach English in Japanese schools and live in the hills about an hour from Hiroshima.

Olen’s family visited his folks, Rick and Carol, in Storm Lake in August. They were joined by Olen’s sister Maya and her husband Arvind, a native of India. They live near Houston. The Peterson family symbolizes how small and interconnected the world has become.

WE ALSO made our annual pilgrimage to Notre Dame for a football game with Stanford, and were joined by son Justin and his girlfriend Piper, who live in the Washington, DC, area. The Fighting Irish prevailed despite an hour lightning delay.

On the way home we swung through Rochester for our annual heart checkup at Mayo. Still ticking!