She is

I bring my hand toward Maggie's head and she lifts it to fit under my palm. I stroke her head, feel the warmth of her fur, and she is my sweet Maggie. 

But she is also my connection to Millie: 

Snoozing in the afternoon sun.

A quiet day on a sunny winter day.

Millie falling asleep with her ear in her food bowl.

Paws draped over the edge. 

Maggie is my reminder of the two of them together:

The silhouette of Maggie & Millie looking out at something interesting in the front field.

One of my favourite photos--lazy-dazy summer days.

On the back porch on a summer day.

In the kitchen on the runner that I taped to the floor so they wouldn't slip.

In my office.

Zzzzzz . . . .

Millie nuzzled in to Maggie's paws. She was a nuzzler.

In the living room, paws together . . . 

Maggie and Millie brought me back to Barkley and Remi:

Barkley & Remi's paws on the same retro-inspired carpet.

Barkley & Remi ready to come in after eating snow.  :-)

Inside, all cozy by the fire.   

Back yard at the Bay House. This is just an ordinary summer day, a snapshot of nothing in particular. They're not being funny or doing anything spectacular. Just hanging out in the yard.  :-) 

Together at the River House labyrinth.

Maggie's nature reminds me so much of Barkley:

SO SWEET. 

She was such a cheerful girl.

She was always by my side & followed me around, just like Maggie does.

Trotting down the pier to come join me.  :-)

Barkley in the River House labyrinth, a few months before her death. 

Feeling the warmth of Maggie's head under my hand, reminds me of Remi:

My gentle giant.

He weighed 145 lbs.

Remi was like Millie. He liked to sun himself on the porch in the winter.

He was not a fan of the camera; he didn't like the sound if it when it turned on.

Hullo.

 Looking at the back of Maggie's head . . . 

. . . reminds me of Millie, looking out her window at the River House:

Do you see what she's looking at? See the turkey to the right of her head?

It also reminds me of Remi's silhouette:

Sunrise at the Bay House; a familiar sight. Barkley went out & right back in again. Remi would walk around the perimeter of the yard & then go to the door and then sit at the window to let me know he wanted in.

Remi on another day. The sunrises were always beautiful, but I don't remember them without also remembering Barkley and Remi at my feet, while I was having my morning chai.

I picked Barkley out of a litter of 13 when she was 3 weeks old. I knew Remi before he was born and Barkley had puppies:

I never got to know Maggie or Millie in their youth. I missed their puppyhood and got them as old ladies. But I imagine what they must have been like; like all puppies that are exuberant and joyful and waggy. 

I bring my hand to Maggie's head and I touch every dog I have ever loved. 

Maggie is my connection to Millie and Barkley and Remi. She is my connection to unconditional love that only a dog lover knows. She is the softness, the gentleness, the playfulness. She is my waggy Miss Maggie, forever in my heart.