Tonkin to You!

My wife and I are more obsessed with our dog Willis than Thanos was about finding all the Infinity Stones. He is handsome, smart as hell, and a born comedian….a textbook Jack Russell terrier. This slightly mighty canine is a perpetual motion machine stuffed into nine lbs of muscle, attitude, and spunk. Seldom a day has gone by in the Tonkin household since his arrival four years ago that Willis hasn’t inspired a laugh or brought more light into a room. He is my teaching assistant, hiking partner, confident, and best bud. Recently, Mr. Willis (as my wife has taken to calling him) earned a new title: Mentor. A little over a week ago, a two pound ball of fluff showed up at my house (courtesy of my brother-in-law Raife). Looking like a wet rat and smelling of cigarettes, this little terrier/chihuahua mix (a “cherrier”) was wobbly, thin, and in dire need of a home. Raife’s rescues were not a new phenomena in the family; as a landlord, he often comes across “unplanned” critters needing a

  The number “7” is frequently associated with good luck or perfection.  Christians believe that the world was created in six days, with the seventh being a day of rest.  The seven-day week is a global standard. When asked to pick a number between one and ten, people disproportionately will pick seven ( https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11803762 ).  The liberal arts, the basis for all modern education, was based upon the original seven disciplines: Grammar, rhetoric, logic, music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy ( https://employedhistorian.com/liberal-arts/7-liberal-arts/ ).  We even see 7 show up in pop music (Duran Duran’s pop masterpiece “7 and the Ragged Tiger,” Prince’s metaphysical explorations in “7” and Fleetwood Mac’s catchy “Seven Wonders”) and films (“Seven,” “Seven Samurai,” and the “Seventh Seal,” to name a few).   Seven seems to be a very significant and noteworthy digit for sure; how coincidental that I’m finishing my seventh year as a full-time p