In the Beginning...

Up in the clouds, Winnie went into her Doga stretch, the one that went from the tip of her long nose to the little white tip of her tail, and then she shook. Vigorously. She then folded herself up on a soft, puffy cloud right across from Star, whose brow was furrowed, as she anxiously looked down.

“I think they’re doing fine, Star,” Winnie said, soothingly. “You heard Mom - she said she’s just fine with only JoLee and Elbie.”

“If she’s fine, why is she always looking on the computer at dogs who need a home?” Star peered down again.

“Sweetling, maybe you just need to take a break. There’s plenty to do up here - look at Tim!” Winnie gestured over to a pile of clouds, where all you could see were two tails and hineys. Tim and Milo were digging furiously, side by side, and puffs of cloud streamed up from behind them.

“Nah. I’m good.” Star said. She resituated herself and looked back down again.

Winnie got a thoughtful look on her face. “Star, what if we sent Mom and Dad a puppy?”

Star’s head cocked to one side, and then to the other. “We can do that?” Her tail started wagging - for the first time since she’d greeted all her friends after leaving Mom and Dad.

“Well, sure!” Winnie grinned. “There’s nothing we can’t do up here!”

They scootched closer together and started planning the Perfect Puppy, and all the while, Tim and Milo scratched up the clouds, which floated away in little puffy bits.

“I want her to look like me,” Star said decisively.

“Well, but Dad said he wanted another greyhound,” Winnie preened. “How about we send them a greyhound that looks like you?”

Star got a funny look on her face. “Um, I’m not sure I can actually picture that, Winnie. Would it be a grrrl dog or a boy dog?” She looked down again. “Mom said she wanted to stick with boys for a while…”

“Oh, Mom doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She needs another grrrl around the house - she’s far outnumbered by boys right now.” Winnie sniffed. “They need a little sophistication down there - you’ve been watching, so you know I’m right!”

Star considered. “Yeah, I think I know what you mean. And she has to be cuddly. That JoLee - he always growls when Mom hugs him, and Elbie’s just too small to hug properly. Mom needs someone who really wants to be hugged.” She looked off into the distance. “I loved it when Mom hugged me. I miss her.”

Winnie reached out and touched Star with her nose. “I miss both of them, Star. I remember how Mom used to bend over and wrap her arms around me, and I used to love leaning on Dad for his hugs… Yes. We need to send her someone snuggly. What else should we give her?”

“Twinkle toes!” Star grinned. “We have to give her twinkle toes like mine!” She looked at her back feet. “But we can make her any way we want to, right?”

Winnie nodded.

“Then let’s give her Twinkle toes on ALL of her feet!”

They scootched even closer together and started making their very own puppy.
Days passed, maybe even weeks. Time moves much differently up at The Bridge, you know.

“Winnie?” Star was laying on her back, all four feet in the air, head lolling back lazily.

“Yes, Sweetling?”

“How will Mom and Dad know that we’re sending them this Special Pup?”

Winnie gave it some thought. “Well, how about this: we’ll call her ‘Winnie.’ When Mom sees a greyhound that looks like you that has my name, there will be no way she can possibly not put it together!”

“Great thinking, Winnie!”

And they put their plan into action.