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Taking
time to find the right Jedi By Lawrence Mowery
We have thought about the pressures and joys of being in charge of a little one and made the decision to take a step of faith forward and bring a small bundle of joy into our home. So we contacted the local humane society and we adopted a puppy. My wife has been harrassing me to get a puppy since the first of the year. I have been hesitant because of the extra duties that will have to be done to keep our grass clear. But one weekend we were in Lewiston and decided to go to some of the local pet stores and just look at puppies. Luckily for me pet stores are more of a deterent to obtain a puppy. Paying over $100 just to get a dog that I will need to break in doesn’t appeal to my frugal nature. So after hitting the major pet stores we decided to head to the Lewis & Clark Animal Shelter. On the end of the penitentiary corridor was a small black labrador retriever puppy named Mahdi. My wife let out a high pitched sound of joy that I thought was from the puppy at first. It was clear that she wanted to take him home then and there, but I still wasn’t convinced it was the right timing. The shelter only had two more hours before they closed so I told her we should go home and make sure this was the decision we wanted to make. That night laying in bed, we discussed names for the puppy, what we needed to purchase prior to picking him up and all the things expecting parents talk about. We went to church early the next morning and hurried over to one of the pet stores to pick up some of the necessities prior to arriving at the shelter. We arrived at the shelter early before they officially opened and entered the lobby. The volunteer asked us if he could help us, and I asked if he still had the little black puppy. He replied, “No. Mahdi was adopted last night just before we closed.” I am not sure what hurt more, the emptiness I felt as my stomach dropped or seeing the look of disappointment in my wife’s eyes.
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We headed home in silence. By the time we pulled into our driveway we felt both sad and at peace with the situation. Apparently parenthood would have to wait, even if we did have a trunk containing puppy food, toys and a blue collar. I called a friend who volunteers at Hope’s Haven and informed her we didn’t get the puppy we looked at earlier in the weekend. And she told me we should go down and take a look at a dog she thought would be a good fit. My wife and I agreed, and we decided to head down to the shelter. In the far kennel, two puppies were playing with each other, oblivious to our presence. The two-toned brown one, with white paws was stepping on his brother’s head and was clearly winning the match. I thought to myself, now that is a pup worthy to be called my son. After filling out some simple paper work the adoption was legal on paper, but our puppy was scheduled to get neutered the following day. So we decided to keep that scheduled appointment even if it meant five days before we could physically take possession of him. Those five days seemed like five weeks. By the time we received the phone call we could go down and pick him up we both had wide smiles on our faces. I carried him out of the shelter and into the car, reassuring him he would be loved and protected. And whispered into his ear his new name, Jedi. Sometimes we don’t get what we want, but most of the time we get what we need. Now that his personality is starting to show through, it is clear we made the right choice. Jedi was the puppy who was supposed to piddle on our rugs. — Lawrence Mowery is on staff at the Gazette Record and is adjusting to his early morning wake-up barks. |
Just
like other newlyweds, my wife and I have discussed when we should
expand our family and take on the responsibilty of parenthood.
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