VIP Sunday

On Sunday, we had a very, very special visitor to the MargeHouse.

Roxanne from Champion of My Heart was in town for a journalism conference and bravely made the trek from Manhattan to Staten Island to see us, which I was overjoyed about.  (I totally would have went to NYC, but she wanted to meet Marge, too.. and, aside from passing through in a car, Marge will likely never set foot in Manhattan in her life.)

She and Marge hit it off right away, undoubtedly due to the fact that Roxanne is one of very few people (sadly) that Marge has encountered who knows how to approach a shy or cautious dog in the correct manner.

Aside from some initial cautiousness, Marge was very wiggly with Rox and welcomed a good deal of petting and cookies (though all I had in the house were some not-so-high-value chicken jerky type things).

After a little while, Marge left the room and went to sleep on the couch, obviously unconcerned about the stranger on her soil.  We followed her lead and sat for a while in the same room.

Then, Marge plopped right down on the floor in the middle of the room while my mom, sister, Roxanne and I conversed before the two of us went to grab some grub.

They enjoyed a smooch (photo shown here) as they said farewell to each other.  We then departed for lunch and, eventually, the airport with Louie for Roxanne's flight home.

Whether she knows it or not, Roxanne is someone who I admire greatly and someone who has had a huge influence on my knowledge of and interest in fearful dogs.  I began reading her blog, Champion of My Heart, in 2009, shortly after I created MargeBlog.  I find myself referring to her posts and e-mails often, which contain a wealth of info about fearful dogs and dogs in general.

Suffice to say, I was very happy to meet and spend time with a personal idol and, most importantly, a good friend.

She even took me inside the front doors of La Guardia airport, my first time in an airport in 15+ years.  You know, a little desensitization for me, the flying phobe. :)  Seems oddly appropriate for two girls who met because of their more-sensitive-than-usual canine companions.