Thankfully Heather and Christy stayed late after I wrapped
up book club to catch up. The subject of
dogs came up and I confessed how much I still missed Teddy. The companionship of a dog, especially all
the time I spent alone working from home, I longed for but wasn’t sure I was
ready. Lewis had started to consistently
ask for another dog and even recently told me “mama it will help you not miss
Teddy.” I explained a few barriers for
just getting a dog were Lewis’ newly discovered allergies, cost of a
non-shedding dog, stress of training a new puppy, etc. They both shared that they cannot imagine
their home without their dogs and the comfort they bring in difficult times. I
joked that I wanted a female dog and then I wouldn’t be outnumbered, and I
already had a name picked out - Dolly. Both
Heather and Christy suggested I look online for “designer rescues” and they
would be praying about it for me.
After that conversation, I had the desire for a dog weighing
heavier on my heart. I woke up the next
morning to take Lewis on a field trip and a text from Heather popped up. It was a screen shot of a Facebook post where
an owner was looking to re-home her two dogs.
The dogs were precious, but I immediately shut it down. I text Heather that I couldn’t do two dogs
and what did we know about the breed and why were they giving them away. Heather did a soft sell reminding me that two
means they would always have a playmate and I wouldn’t have to feel bad about
leaving them. Then another text pops up
from Christy with the same information on the dogs. I told her the same spill I told
Heather.
The entire field trip I couldn’t help but think of the
dogs. I looked at their picture a few
more times. Field trip was finished, and
Lewis and I were eating lunch when my mom called about the dogs. She had seen the post too. I told her I was, this late in the day, that
the dogs were already spoken for. I
couldn’t help but wonder if this was a God wink since Heather, Christy and I
just had this conversation the day before and decided to Facebook message the
women who posted about them. I told
myself not to get my hopes up, but my heart started pounding with excitement
when she responded that we should talk as she was still deciding on a home for
them.
She called me right away and shared that they were
non-shedding dogs. Gigi was the smallest
weighing seven and a half pounds and Lola weighed twenty-two pounds. They were from the same litter and hypoallergenic. They didn’t shed it all as the breed was a
double doodle. The women assured me they
were loving and amazing dogs but her family of five just didn’t’ have the time
to devote to them and they also had two cats.
She was honest that the cats are much more independent and self-sufficient
than the dogs. I shared my story of the
loss of Teddy and discovering Lewis’ had allergies which kept us from being
able to just go get a dog from the shelter.
I was also honest that money was a factor as we just didn’t have it in
our budget to pay big money for a dog currently. The mom said “These dogs are free. We just want to ensure they go to a loving
home. And one of your friends private
messaged me that your home would be a great choice and several people tagged
you on the Facebook post I made.” I had
not been on Facebook to even see it but apparently my friend Elizabeth, Christy
and Tammy had made a case for me to have the dogs too.
The dog owner needed to talk to her family to ensure they
were comfortable giving the dogs away.
And I also needed to talk to my husband and Lewis to see what their
feelings were about the dog. We agreed
to just stay in touch.
Shortly after the call with the dog owner, my mom sent a
screen shot with information about the double doodle breed. The actual name of the breed was called Dolly
Double Doodles. I just couldn’t believe
it! I had just said to my friends that I
wanted a dog named Dolly. And while it
wasn’t one of the dog’s actual names, the fact Dolly was the breed gave me
chills. I was so anxious now to talk to
my husband because it just really seemed like God meant for our family to have
these dogs.
My friend Julie called right before I had to pick up Lewis to
see if I had seen the post about the dogs.
I had friends, all around me, thinking these dogs were a fit. Julie then asked a question I hadn’t thought
about – would my landlord allow us to have dogs in the house? Yikes I hadn’t even thought of this and
thankful Julie sad something at the same time my heart sank as we just renewed
our lease and I wasn’t sure they would allow it. I text the dog owner to let her know I would
need to find out if we could even have the dogs before it went any further and
we both agreed to pray about what was best.
I talked with my husband as soon as I could and shared the
story of how this all transpired starting with my conversation the day before
with Heather and Christy. He agreed this
could be a God wink but didn’t want me to get my hopes up until we heard from
the landlord. My landlord was amazing
and said she would make a case to the actual homeowner but felt it was best if
I emailed the owner my story directly.
As I was typing my story to the owner of our home, I received a message
back from the dog owner that her family would be happy to share Gig and Lola
with our family. Now to just hear back
from the landlord. That wait seemed like
forever.
Right before I had to put Lewis to bed, I got the text that
the landlord had approval from the homeowner for us to have the dogs. Because of the timing, my husband and I were
able to discuss it with Lewis. I
explained that there were two dogs in need of a home that could give them a lot
of love, time and attention. When I
showed Lewis the picture, I knew by the happy on his face that Gigi and Lola
would be our dogs.
We had a playdate with the dogs before I had to leave to head
out of town for work. The playdate went
perfectly, and Lewis was in love – we all were!
We agreed to bring them permanently to their new home when I got back to
town. I got them all settled in late
afternoon and surprised Lewis when I picked him up from school. We had a wonderful evening getting their
things all set up. At bedtime, we had
their crate in our room and went to put them both in their crate to sleep. But the sweet look on their faces melted our
hearts and into the bed they both went.
In less than 24 hours, God worked it out for our home to
have the love and affection of a dog(s) again.
I am so thankful for praying friends who saw the Facebook post (Heather
and Christy), the friends who cheered for us when we didn’t even know (Elizabeth
and Tammy), and my mom for discovering they were “Dolly’s”. And I will also always be grateful to the
family who let us love the dogs allowing them to get the time and attention
they needed. In a week’s time God took
our little family of three to a joy filled Morris Family of Five!
