Some of you will understand this and some of you won’t.  But I am totally and completely in love with my dog.  Nina, my Norwegian Elkhound, is the love of my life.  This truth can be attributed to two things: (1) my never-ending affection and sensitivity for animals and (2) the fact that I don’t have children.  Nina is my kid … my canine kid.  I spend more time with her than any other living creature on the planet, her personality is as complex as any human’s and when she’s hurt, my heart breaks.  And since she had a medical procedure at the vet today that left her drugged, in pain and wearing one…