May 2009

The highlight (as well as the lowlight) of this month has been the acquisition of a new family member. After Bailey died, I said I wasn’t going to get another dog…then changed that to maybe I’ll get another dog…someday. But a phone call came a few weeks ago that changed all that. It was my mom, who is not a dog person, calling to say she’d found the perfect dog for us. Okay, that was pretty much right out-of-the-blue and just weird enough to get my attention and, partly to humor her and since it was close to Mother’s Day, I listened as she described this two-year-old small yellow Labrador retriever, who actually did sound rather ideal. But perhaps too good to be true. Plus there was a bit of mystery involved since this dog needed to be “re-homed.” I wondered…did this dog bite small children (like my granddaughter), chew good shoes, destroy furniture, dig up gardens, bark at everyone…what? But when I quizzed the previous owner, I was assured Audrey (yes, that’s her name) was a VERY good dog. Well, okay, I thought I want to meet this Audrey. And so I did. And I’ll admit it wasn’t love at first sight. But that was partly because I still wasn’t quite ready for a dog…and yet…something about this Audrey charmed me.

The next thing I knew I was scrambling to find dog beds, dishes, leashes, a pink bandana…and all that other doggy stuff. And then I picked her up in my car and wondered if she was a good traveler. She was a great traveler. And it turned out she didn’t bite small children, chew shoes, destroy furniture and although she walked on my flowers, she had a light step and the flowers didn’t even seem to mind. And I discovered that she loves light and shadows (and so do I). And I found that she loves coming to my office with me, finds a niche to curl up in and quietly sleeps, like she’s doing right now. And very quickly, Audrey won my heart. The dog I hadn’t gone looking for, wasn’t even sure I’d wanted was suddenly very, very dear to me. And after a few weeks, I couldn’t even imagine life without Audrey.

But here’s where the story twists…Audrey loves to play fetch. She also loves the beach. And sometimes she just about wears herself out chasing and catching her ball so I smartly decided to leave the ball and the thrower thing at home on Tuesday. We were just going to walk—just walk and run without playing fetch. But, of course, Audrey decided that chasing a stick would be more fun. And about fifteen minutes down the beach, she had just fetched a stick (a nice smooth one with rounded ends) but suddenly she yelped. I mean really YELPED like she was in severe pain. I ran to her and blood was spurting from her mouth and her right eye looked very odd. Okay, I’m cutting to the chase here because this is the hard part of the story and I don’t even want to hear it again. Somehow we made it off the beach and to the vet’s, which I somehow figured out by calling 411, and Audrey was taken from me and I was told to go home and wait. And I actually thought that was it—Sweet Audrey, like Sweet Bailey, would soon be walking down a heavenly beach with God together. The two best dogs just gone. And I was totally and thoroughly devastated. Crushed and brokenhearted. How could I have a perfect dog for just a few weeks and—just like that—lose her? It really didn’t seem fair.

I got several people to pray for poor Audrey. And Chris, who’d just returned to Sisters (like Audrey and I had been planning to do) zipped back over here. About ninety minutes later, I called the vet, bracing myself for the worst. But the vet told me (first, that Audrey was a VERY good dog) and then she explained how she’d sedated her and performed surgery to repair where the stick had punctured the roof of her mouth. It had also perforated far enough to bruise her right eye—hopefully the swelling would go away and her eyesight would return. And she assured me that with some rest and care, Audrey would probably be perfectly fine. And three days and lots of pills and some really good soft dog food later, Audrey is nearly recovered. Her injured eye still looks a little goofy, but I’m sure she can see out of it now. And today she was stretched out on her back and yawned so big with the sun shining in so that I could see the small hole that was neatly stitched closed and it looked clean and good.

So…what did I learn from this? Well, just say "no" to sticks. And also to remember there are no guarantees about anything in this life. It is possible that you are blessed out-of-the-blue with something amazing—a wonderful dog, a delightful friend, a great spouse…or even a nice house and a good job…but there’s no telling how long those things will be here. Dogs, friends, spouses, houses and jobs…they can all slip away. So, once again, I’m reminded to enjoy the here and now while they’re still with me. Walk on the beach, hold hands, breathe deeply, give generously…stay in the moment…and trust God for whatever comes next.

Blessings!

Melody

DEAR MOM

EVERYTHING Your Teenage Daughter WANTS You TO KNOW But Will NEVER Tell You

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