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Thursday, August 16, 2018

THE SWEETEST DOG STORY EVER



The other day I stopped by to see Ann, an acquaintance of mine, for it had been a year since I had seen her. Men were outside painting her house and things were quite busy as well as hectic—outside that is.  After ringing her doorbell, I was first greeted by two dogs and then she appeared with saying “Come inside!” As I went inside, I couldn’t help but notice that the larger of the two dogs was not the same one I’d seen last year. Really I didn’t want to blurt out “What happened to your other dog?” but it just happened that I did.

With a sad look on her face, Ann told me “My larger dog passed away eight months ago.”  “I’m so sorry; I know how that hurts” was my response. “It was terrible but so much worse for my little dog Molly: She wouldn’t eat and was grieving over losing her best buddy. It went on for several months.” That part I understood full well for there was more than one time I had two dogs at the same time and one had died—and grief I saw in my other dog.

“Where did you get this dog?” I asked. “Lucy?” she asked me. “I love that name for a dog; fits her” was my reply. “Well this is how it happened: I decided to take Molly with me to the shelter and see if she would choose a dog that she liked: We went from cage to cage and then Molly stopped and sat down. Wouldn’t move. She was nose to nose [through the cage] with the larger dog. I know it sounds strange, but not only did Molly know that it was the right dog for us but so did I and that was the day we brought “Lucy” home with us.

As my dog came from the very same shelter, I knew that the dog had not been named “Lucy” by the workers but then maybe so. “Was that her name at the shelter?” I asked. “No” she said smilingly “and I changed her name when we got home.” “Do you remember  when I got Rufus at the shelter that he had been named Louie?” Ann just smiled and then said “I remember that well.”

I looked at Lucy and she was so pretty: Large, some brown on her face but the rest of her was pure white. “Somehow she looks like a Jack Russell in her face but then…” and I stopped. “She’s a mix of who knows what” said Ann. By this time Lucy was right by my hand wanting to smell dog on me [yes my dog smell was on me,] and then I petted her on the head. Was Molly nearby? Molly was standing right beside her best buddy. I should add that Molly is small and a mixture of poodle and who knows what else?

I thought to myself how lucky Lucy was to find such a wonderful home with a wonderful owner and a pal named Molly, and all amid French furniture. “Now it just doesn’t get any better than that, I thought to myself. Not one iota.”

All of a sudden Ann asked me if I’d go outside with her to check to see it the painters missed any places: I gladly told her I would. Before I knew it Ann was out the back door with the two dogs and I couldn’t find them. “Ann!” I hollered. I wasn’t greeted by Ann, but by Lucy—it was as if she was the official in charge for she stopped and then walked slowly in front of me, so that I would find not only Ann but Molly as well.

“She’s one amazing dog” I said and Ann replied “Yes she is just that.” Both of us checked to see if the painters had missed any places but the sun was glaring: It was hard for me to tell if there were any or not as I’d left my sunglasses inside her house. Ann did find several places that were missed but that was all; on my part, I was amazed at what a wonderful job the painters were doing. “I wish I had you both to have painted my house when it was remodeled” I told them. They just smiled. “I’m serious; you should see how it looks” and I ended it with those words as well as a smirk on my face.

“Let’s go inside” said Ann. I was so glad to be able to sit down after we entered her house. “Would you like something cold to drink?” “I’d love it” I said. Holding a big glass of cold iced tea was Nirvana; drinking it was all the better.  “You know” I said “it just doesn’t get any better than this—being with a friend and her two dogs amid all this beautiful furniture is wonderful. “ “Why thank you” Ann replied “and I feel the very same way.”

When it was time for me to depart, I went to my car and looked back and thought how miraculous it was for a friend to take her grieving dog to find a dog for a buddy, and even better that her dog found the right one by choosing Lucy. In the back of my mind, I wished I had done that at one time or another but it never entered my mind—ever. Also I couldn’t help but think that Lucy knew a good owner when she saw Ann, and a best buddy when she saw Molly.

To me, this was the sweetest dog story ever, and I will make more frequent trips not only to see Ann, but to see the two dogs that maybe chose each other or it not, Molly had good taste plain and simple. On my way home I did nothing but smile all the way about what I’d heard and what I’d seen for love knows no boundaries—all it takes is a trip and finding it.

Sherry Hill

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Sherry Hill

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*Pic of dog paw prints from Microsoft Word