Kelly Gibbons, artist and writer, about me

Friday, June 04, 2004

I'm getting a new dog! I had no intention of getting a new dog, but that's pretty much the way it always happens for us anyway.

The dog I have now was given to me. Nine years ago, my father gave her to me. He's one of those guys who shows up every few years and just does things like that. "Oh hi, how've you been? Here do you want this puppy?" Then he's gone for another few years. Maybe he's trying to make up for all those things he didn't give me as a child. Who knows. Anyway, I'm a sucker for a cute face and I wasn't about to turn down a puppy.

My next dog, Ben, came about unexpectedly too. I was working at Mailboxes, Etc., and their was a pet store a few doors down. The owner of the pet store came in one day and said, "Do you know anyone who wants a black lab?" I wasn't looking for a dog, but I was interested. Why not, I love dogs. This poor dog had been put in the kennel while his owner went in the hospital for surgery. His owner died, and no one in his family wanted the dog.

All I had to do was look at him and my heart was gone. It was love at first site. He was five and full grown when we got him. He was 150 pounds and the biggest, friendliest dog I have ever seen. He fit right in from the moment we got him. Once he was there, it felt like he had always been there. He was the best dog I ever had. He was trained when we got him, and he would not go into the kitchen. He didn't beg for food, and was house-trained. He also could let himself into the house using the doorknob. He was amazing. The day he died was one of the saddest days of my life. I cried so much that day I thought I would never be happy again.

Ben died two years ago, and I have not wanted another dog since. I didn't want to replace him, and neither did my husband. He loved that dog. How do you replace the irreplaceable anyway? And, I still have my Keisha, so it wasn't like I really needed another dog.

This weekend we were at a soccer tournament for the girls, and during a break in the games we went over to the nearby mall. There was a pet store there full of the most adorable puppies. Suddenly, I wanted a new dog, and surprisingly so did Ray (he's usually hard to convince in these cases). We would have bought one right then if it weren't for the $800 price tag. Yikes!

So, instead, I went to the SPCA. I have never gone to the SPCA before to look for an animal. I've always been afraid to look because I feared my guilt for not taking all the animals home would overwhelm me. It is such a sad place. The animals are so hopeful and starved for attention. I almost had to leave because it was so hard to be there knowing I could not save them all. At one point I began to cry and say, "Ray I have to get out of here. I can't do this." I was able to compose myself by telling myself saving one was what I could do. Sometimes, you can't do everything, but you do what you can.

Two dogs caught my eye. A beagle and a Chihuahua. They were the only two dogs that weren't barking. This amazed me, because every other dog in that kennel was going crazy barking and jumping around. The beagle was popular and already had an application out on him so chances were I wouldn't get him anyway. This left the Chihuahua.

The problem now was Ray. Ray really doesn't like small dogs. A dog to him is BIG. Big like Ben. To be honest Chihuahuas have never been my first choice in dogs either, but he was so darn cute. And I guess the chihuahua from two days ago that I "bonded" with at the traffic light was still fresh in my mind.

The next day I took my daughters, Kelci and Michelle, back to the SPCA to see the dogs. One look at the little guy was all it took. It was all over when he crawled up his cage to see them. It would take a hard heart to say no to a Chihuahua clinging to a cage, begging you to pick him.

The girls and I drove home picking out names for the little guy, and I reminded them that he wasn't ours yet. Ray wasn't there, and we would still need to convince him. I called him at work and told him about the cage climbing dog. "But it's a Chihuahua, it's not a dog, it's a Rodent! We'll talk about this later." I was out in the yard on the cordless when I called, and at that moment I looked down and found a four leaf clover.

I got off the phone and the girls we're anxiously awaiting the verdict. "He's not sure I said, but don't worry, I found a four leaf clover when I was talking to Dad, and it's a good sign. I think we'll get the dog, and when we do we'll call him Lucky."

Our little guy is coming home in a few days, as soon as he has the dreaded operation. After that he will be Lucky!

posted by Kelly @ 6/04/2004 06:34:00 AM

1 Comments:

At June 05, 2004 12:34 AM, Quiet Mattie said…

Hey Kelly!

Yippee on the puppiee dog!!! "Lucky" is indeed a lucky
dog to become a member of such a warm and loving family.

Get the giggles every time I think of you barking at the other dog. Thought I was the only one. Bad enough I wave at them!! I even tell my "RugRat" where I'm going when I leave, how bad am I?