It all started quietly enough. She just sat there looking at
us thoughtfully, while all of her friends were rustling around, making noise,
jumping and creating a chaotic scene. My granddaughter just pointed at her and
said, “Isn’t that one cute?” After watching her and holding her for some time
so we could get some idea of her personality, we made the decision. She had to
come live with us…now. My husband was up north at our cottage but we called him
to let him know that we had found our newest family addition. He was stressed
and yelled at his granddaughter, “NO WAY!”
She shouted back, “WAY!”
The next day, my daughter, granddaughter and my grandson
went to the pet store and we checked out the tiny Chorki. She is a Chihuahua,
Yorkie mix puppy who was still quietly standing in the midst of the puppy
chaos. Again, we called my husband who was no less clear…”NO damn pretend dog is
being bought. I want a hunting dog. No more boot dogs.” Boot dogs, by the way,
are those tiny ones you just want to kick out of your way! Kenzie, our granddaughter patiently explained
that the decision had been made and we were in love with her. She had to come
home with us. I snuggled the puppy close to my heart and she looked lovingly at
me. I knew this doggy belonged in our home. We already had two Chihuahuas: Paco
and Chica at our cottage in Caseville. Really, what would one additional, five
pound dog matter? Richard was still blowing steam as I told him our decision
was made…she was our newest doggy and would be home soon.
At this point in our lives, I was still consulting overseas
and was shortly heading out of the country. Richard was clearly NOT going to be
training a new puppy. So, Heidi, our daughter, decided to keep Luna, until my
return from Rwanda. And, at some point later, Kristin kept Luna while Richard and I were away...I think when we were camping with our grandkids. When we came home...Kristin called to let us know that Luna was alive, but rather broken. Which is the photo above...Kristin had taken Luna on a ride on their gator and Luna jumped off and broke her leg.
Each of our dogs have a Spanish name…they are Chihuahuas, after
all. And I love the Spanish language. I forget what we thought we might call
her at first…but I ended up with Luna, which means moon. She is dark, yet
bright and light.
Luna is now two years old and the light of our lives. Both
Richard and I adore her and she continues to be intelligent, frisky, loving and
adds a light to our lives. She is frisky despite her broken leg which healed but not quite correctly. I never realized that dogs could look lovingly and
deeply into one’s eyes and really see one’s heart. She knows when we are happy,
hurting or just feeling down. If happy, she plays and jumps around. If we are
hurting, she snuggles quietly nearby and if we are just not feeling perky, she
will settle next to us quietly on the sofa and wait, looking at us carefully…for
what, I wonder?
She waits for a touch, a hug or sometimes, just a tender
word. She cocks her head and looks at us
as if to say, “It will be alright.” Though light in weight, she has affected us
profoundly. We cannot be near her without smiling and we enjoy watching her
adapt to new people.
When times are tough, a pet is so comforting. I cannot
imagine a life without a dog. To open the door and be greeted happily every day
is amazing. It matters not what my mood is or whether I have time for my
dogs…they are there, eagerly jumping and happy to see me. They are never cranky
that I left them for too long, or forgot to feed them on time. They love me
unconditionally in a way that people cannot love another…and that is returned
in spades. Luna lights up our lives…daily.
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