This is me at 7 or 8 years old holding a couple of Taffy's puppies. Taffy was the dog a grew up with and she was a mixed breed. She was the family dog and the neighborhood supplier of puppies. But, more importantly she was the 4th child of my parents and my baby sister. You see, when I was growing up, my family was aware of how pets enrich your life and really can become the 4 legged child or furbaby.
Now another picture...
This is me 52 years later with the latest addition to our family, Sadie Tip Callahan. You see, after Gabbi went to run in the fields of heaven I was sort of mopie and my husband didn't want to see me hurting anymore.
After Gabbi passed I told my husband that I was more than willing to give it a shot at life without pets. My husband was raised on a farm and for him, dogs were part of the livestock and stayed outside let alone sleep under the covers with you. He was wonderfully tolerant of first Buster, then Gabbi and he even had his own dog, a Shi Tzu named Roly Poly. He gradually began to understand how a dog is a great example of unconditional love and is now spouting the rules of positive reinforcement training.
So, one Sunday in July he walked out of the bedroom and asked me what would I name a new puppy if we got one. I told him he was confusing me cause I thought we had an agreement that we weren't gonna get another dog. He told me that he wanted his wife back, meaning that he knew I would never totally be myself without a dog and he understood that who he fell in love with had to have a dog in her life. He also admitted that God told him to get me a dog and he'd been fighting it for a week.
Anyway, he had been cruising Craig's List and found some Jack Russell Terrier puppies for sale. He contacted the breeder and they had one left. He told the breeder that we could come and see the puppy in a couple of days, either Tuesday or Wednesday. When he told me all this, I just figured the puppy was not happening. Besides we were entertaining his Brother and Wife for dinner at a local restaurant in a few hours.
While waiting for my inlaws to show up the name Sadie popped into my head and I couldn't shake it. To pass the time I started to thumb through an LL Bean catalog and when I got to the dog leashes and stuff they had some customized food mats and one of them had the name Sadie on it. I took it as a sign.
At the restaurant, my sister-in-law, out of the blue, looks at my husband and tells him he needs to get me a dog. Another sign.
When we got home I found the add on Craig's List and wondered if Sadie was the runt of the litter. I also showed my husband a magnet I had in my office at the VA of a Jack Russell Terrier Puppy. It had graced my file cabinet for years and when patients or employees asked if that was my dog I would respond "no but I'm gonna have one someday.
Then I called the breeder to find out if Sadie was the runt. She replied that Sadie was indeed the runt. I said that I was partial to runts and she said that she was as well, however, her husband had promised the puppy to another person. I was discouraged but asked that if that other person didn't show up to please give me a call because we were very interested in the puppy.
I gave my husband the news and he began to pray that if this was the puppy God wanted us to have, the other person wouldn't show up. I just told the Lord that if it was His will that we don't get the puppy, I would not let it interfere with our relationship by being angry or disappointed.
I got the phone call at 9:55 am the following day. We drove down to a small town south of Decatur and picked up our newest family member.
Introducing Miss Sadie Tip Callahan
So today I'm grateful for:
1. My Wonderful Husband who really gets me.
2. God for making the way to get my newest baby.
3. All the aches I have from chasing Sadie around.
4. All the laughs I get watching Sadies antics
5. SADIE TIP!
Later,
Jan
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