Sarah Jane joins the family

Floppy ears, long legs and beautiful brown eyes
By Margi Washburn

I wonder when it started, that smallest of urges to seek out another furry friend. Whenever it was, it had to be too soon because the tears still came at the mere thought of our last dog. She was gone too soon and too suddenly, but the fact remained and we had to live with it.

As the shock wore off and my mind began to wander and wonder, the idea of a fuzzy, fat-faced puppy began to appeal a bit too much. I knew hubby was going to be hard to convince; maybe it would be impossible.

The thing is, our house was too quiet. I don't think either one of us wanted to come home from work or errands or visiting until we absolutley had to. We would turn the television up to drown out the silence, and we would avoid looking toward the toy corner where she kept all of her empty soda bottles.

I began to mention little things, like how much I loved the idea of starting out with a fresh, new puppy, one we could train to ride along with us, go for walks, attend ball games and maybe go visiting. I got a warning look from hubby, but he didn't tell me to stop talking about it.

I kept hinting and last Saturday we picked up his mom and off we went to Galesburg. There was an adopt-a-thon going on at the mall and I had already set up a meet-and-greet with one of the Guardian Angels folks to check out a beagle. It had been less than a week since we lost Max, and I was afraid my heart was in no shape to be looking at pups. I have to give hubby credit; he trusted me even though I know it must have taken up most of his faith that day.

I headed straight for the pets and couldn't believe what happened next. I was speechless, but not because the dogs were so cute. It was because not a single one appealed to me. This was completely out of character for me. I was left alone to decide, but my heart refused to budge. It just wasn't going to happen.

The sweet caretaker and I hugged, both of us in tears. She was understanding and wished us well in finding a new puppy someday. As we turned to leave, her friend spoke.

“You know,” she said, “there is a yellow lab mix at the shelter. It's a pup. But they're not open for another hour.”

Every picture I'd ever seen of a yellow lab ran through my mind. I saw a fat puppy face, a precious ball of fur sitting in my lap on the way home.

We found the shelter, and made our way to the puppy area. A tiny black puppy yipped and growled the entire time, but the other pup was quiet. She walked slowly up to the gate and poked her nose through. She licked my fingers and looked up at me.

We opened the gate and she went straight for mom. She put her paws on mom's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. After that, she hugged hubby in the crook of his arm. When we left, she walked slowly back to her blanket and laid down, hope slowly fading in her eyes.

I named her Sarah, and we picked her up today. She weighs 30 pounds and she's only four months old. She is lean, has short hair and a skinny face with floppy ears. One of her new favorite places is the veterinarian's office where we stopped on our way into town. She hugged everyone there, too, and she will go back in a few days for a follow-up visit.

Oh, before I forget, Sarah has a new expression already. Her eyes light up, and there's a bounce in her step that wasn't there before. She's in her crate now, stretched out and sleeping peacefully. I think we'll keep her.