Friday is here! What a busy week we have had here in little Waleska. I’m happy to steal away for a little while to write. So, I left off last time with Tim heading to the shelter with tremendously detailed instructions as to who would best fit in with our family. And…action
The kids and I were busy getting the new house unpacked; pictures on the wall, clothes and books out of boxes, etc. Moving sounds exciting, but the reality is exhausting. Here we were, and I get a call from the intrepid adventurer. The message- He has the dog; she is perfect; be home soon. Well, ok then. We prepare for her homecoming. The picture in my mind is still one of a shiny, sleek lab puppy bouncing around excitedly as she views the amazing new home she has to explore. I must say, in the back of my mind I felt a small level of anxiety…Tim had sounded a bit mysterious on the phone. The last time he sounded mysterious my perfect spot for the hot tub was vetoed in place of a “better” spot…one that would require more concrete and several unhappy kids to re-move mom’s heavy Christmas gift from its current location and lug it around the house to its new home. In the end, I must admit…he was right. It was a better location, but what a boatload of work that idea turned out to be! Anyway, he was coming home with a new puppy, and we were ecstatic.
Arriving in the yard, he opened the door as the kids rushed the truck to see their newest companion. I waited patiently cautioning him against sitting her on the ground lest she run for the creek, which is where I was sure she would go first. I need not have worried. This pup was not headed for the creek, not today and not for many tomorrows. As we found out, this dog did not, under any circumstances, want to explore the creek; which must have looked like a raging river to a puppy this small. The “lab” was a fairly nondescript brown with a black ring encircling her tail. Her nose was long and skinny with dark patches as were her ears. This was definitely NOT a lab; in fact she looked more like a German shepherd except not. She was small. The more I watched her, the more I realized this girl was also not the healthiest of animals. She looked up at us pitifully and wagged her skinny tail. I couldn’t help glancing up at my husband, who was eying me with caution. “They told me she is a German shepherd mix. She can protect the kids…” he paused and spoke as if he knew the lab expectation was sorely lacking, “She needed a home and couldn’t wait.” She was not at all what I was expecting, but sometimes we don’t realize what we really need, who we really need. She looked up at me as if waiting for my approval; of course those big, brown eyes won me over. Meanwhile, the kids had no pre-conceived notions of who was coming home. They wanted a puppy, she wanted a home; it was as simple as that. Bella was family.