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I’ve written numerous posts about my three-legged dog, Sadie and how we recently lost her. An episode of Real Men Feel was dedicated to the bond between men and dogs. Some people replace pets quickly, not wanting to be in feelings of grief and loss a moment longer than necessary. I like to give plenty of time to feel everything that is there. To me, giving the loss some time and space to breath is my final way to honor the dog I lost.
After dealing with Sadie’s unexplained seizures for nine months and then having to say goodbye, I thought it might be a year or more before I had any interest in having another dog.
My wife’s been ready to get a dog for a few weeks, maybe longer. I wasn’t. After our ten-month Universal Kabbalah program ended this past weekend, one of the many clearings I experienced was around a next dog.
I visited the Sterling Shelter site on Monday. That is where Sadie and our black and tan coon hound, Homer, before her as well as our current cat, Marge all came from. On the site I scrolled thru 34 dogs. I got to this photo of Scout and cried. I thought that meant I wasn’t ready. I visited again the next day, cried at this picture again, but thought maybe the emotion meant yes.
We made plans to visit the shelter and meet, Scout.
The morning we were to see her, I woke up at 6:15 am because I heard a dog bark. One single bark. I don’t know if it was a dream or what. There was no dog in the house or yard. Cue the Twilight Zone music.
We visited the shelter and learned that Scout is 5 months old and up here from Texas. An elderly couple had her for a month and returned her – I swear that is the emotion I felt looking at her. The pain and sorrow of abandonment.
The couple thought she was too high-energy for them. Luckily, years of three-legged soccer with Sadie have us properly trained for high-energy critters. We even have a bonus 4th leg this time around.
Welcome home, Scout. For reals!
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Photo credit: Andy Grant
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