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| Tuckered out after a day of new dogs and humans Christmas Eve 2012 |
Somehow I came up with the brilliant / preposterous idea of getting Ryan's parents a puppy for Christmas. They get to enjoy the grand-dogs pretty often (sometimes on short notice!), but Ryan's mom has been idly chit-chatting about getting one of their own for a while now. Just after Thanksgiving, Ryan, his sister and I began the search for the perfect rescue. They love Gracie's good-natured disposition so we tried to find a Boxer mix. There were a few at the shelters, and we went to meet them. It turned out to be a bit of a roller coaster. The first one was adopted minutes before we arrived. The second one was not good with other large dogs (and we have several in the family). Then the first dog's pending adoption fell through, so we went back to meet her. I called ahead to make sure the dog was still there and available. She was. Two hours later, we arrived with our dogs to see how they would all get along, but it was not meant to be - she was adopted again!
Feeling a little deflated (but happy dogs were finding their forever homes), I decided to take a break. I still looked online at the new intakes for the shelters in the area. A couple of the photos and stories called out to me, but they were in further-away shelters that held odd hours. Not ideal for two office folks and a teacher to align schedules. We were resigning ourselves to the fact that we might not have a puppy by Christmas. Additionally, I began to see it as a sign that maybe we shouldn't just get a dog for Ryan's unknowing parents. Maybe it would be better to tell them that's what we wanted to do and then all look together. Ryan went and bought other Christmas gifts to put under the tree. Then, this popped up in my Facebook news feed:
That sweet little face pulled at my heart strings immediately. Dasher came into my life via a Facebook post from a friend who had found him on the street, so this had the makings of that wonderful story. I think at the start I just wanted to help my friend Kevin find a dog-sitter for his weekend trip. You and I both know that's not how I operate. Before I knew it, Kevin was telling me how sweet of puppy he is, and we were making logistical arrangements to pick him up. Neither Kevin nor I live in our hometown (or home state) any longer, but we were both in our childhood town for Christmas Eve. This was turning out to be perfect! We would present the puppy to Ryan's parents ON CHRISTMAS DAY! If that isn't a sign that this particular puppy is meant to be the one, then nothing will ever be.
Ryan and I woke up early on Christmas Eve to head to Atlanta to get him. Lesson learned here: If you want this perennially-late, non-morning person to wake up on time, promise her a puppy.
I walked into Kevin's parents' home where his wife, Anna, was holding Lincoln in his lap. I put my hand out for him to sniff, and he picked up his little puppy head and gave me little puppy kisses. When my hand wasn't enough, he stood up and licked my face. He melted my heart on the spot!
He's around 12-14 weeks old now and heavy as a bag of bricks. This guy's gonna get big and burly. Anna and Kevin found him on the side of a road on their way to a holiday party. They just could not leave him there, so they had a friend watch him while they went to the party then picked him up afterwards to begin the search for his humans. No microchip. No craigslist ads for a missing puppy. No lost pet signs outside or online. The vet gave him a once-over and awarded him a mostly clean bill of health for having been outside. A couple prescriptions and they were on their way. The gracious rescuers taught him to sit, began house-training and even worked on some target training. He's quite well-behaved and listens to commands. He's a smart guy - that's for sure! Anna and Kevin tried not to imprint a name in case his new humans would want to choose their own, but we LOVE what they chose for him. Lincoln. Because he's the color of a penny. What a creative idea. I knew Ryan's parents would love it, too. And they did.
After the hand-off, Lincoln's next stop was my grandparents' house - where there were five other dogs. Five. Big ones, too. Lincoln wasn't afraid. He jumped right in there and began tugging on collars, chomping on ears and licking faces. He tumbled all over the living room. He went potty as soon as we brought him outside. All of the nervousness that Ryan and I felt about bringing home this dog having never met him subsided. It all clicked, and we breathed a sigh of relief. Then we became immediately attached and wanted to keep him! Thankfully, he'll only live just down the street and we can see him any day we desire, which, let's be honest, will probably be every day.
I was nervous and shaking a little when we walked into Ryan's parents' house on Christmas evening to open presents. What if they said no? As far as the puppy goes, it would have been no big deal - Ryan and I would just have three dogs then. It was more of a total miss-the-mark situation. I didn't want them upset that we even thought it might be a good idea. I had Lincoln in my arms. Ryan's mother asked "What have you got there?". I replied "Your Christmas present!" and handed Lincoln to her. Or at least I thought I did. That's where things went blurry as I awaited her response. In true Lincoln fashion, he went straight for the face kisses. She giggled in delight, and I felt better. Now onto Ryan's father. A tougher sell. I think he was skeptical at first, but by the end of the night he was smiling and impressed by how smart Lincoln is. He'll be able to teach him some great commands and play fetch with him. The snuggles will help, too!
Welcome, Lincoln! You are lucky to have stumbled into Anna and Kevin's view and to have found your way to the McBee family, but I'll bet we're luckier that you found us.
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| Lincoln in his silver velvet bow tie Christmas Night 2012 |
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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