A puppy

As usual it’s been a really long time since I’ve written. I’ve wanted to write this for a very long time but just haven’t sat down to do it. So I’m finally writing.

It is no secret that Gabe loved animals. LOVED them. Every animal he ever met left an impact on him. Years after encountering a specific animal he would mention that animal by name. He never forgot them, and those animals really helped him get through some difficult things- neighbor dogs helped when we moved, horses helped with his therapies, dogs helped him through his last surgery. He loved animals so much that when we had mice in the house and he heard one get caught by a mouse trap he just lost it. He was so sad about that mouse.

When I met Chris I instantly fell in love with his dog, Buck. I had some dog allergies in the past- in fact we had a puppy for a few days once but had to return it due to my asthma. But I didn’t react to Buck. Gabe had been gone for several years when I met Chris, but I know he would have adored Buck in all his sweet Beagle/Golden Retriever goodness!

Buck was a blessing right from the start. When my living sons met Chris, Buck was a great icebreaker and comic respite. He became a therapy dog during life struggles and family blending. Buck is a bit neurotic and very loud at times, but he is a sweet, sweet dog who just loves everyone. He quickly became the most loved member of the family for everyone.

At some point we started wondering if Buck would like to have a friend. Dogs are pack animals, and Buck was alone most days. We kept an eye on shelter websites and eventually joined a Foster group and applied to foster. At the end of March there was a picture of two beagle mixes who had been picked up as strays. These puppies were not in good shape- scared, infested with mites, and skinny. I noticed one immediately and remember showing the picture to Chris. By the time we were done with dinner they already had fosters lined up and we moved on.

Probably within about 2 weeks a video was posted by the foster of one of the pups playing. Chris and I discussed and I went to meet this puppy. She was calm and didn’t react to the buggy that went by or a neighbor doing yardwork. Chris met her the next day and then things went pretty fast. We applied to transfer as her fosters and brought her home. Within minutes of bringing her home, Penny and Buck were racing around the yard together.

We ended up being her fosters for over a month. We did special baths to help her skin, jumped through hoops to get her to actually like food, and watched her put on weight. Potty training was a bit of a challenge and there were bumps in the road, but she quickly became ours.

One of the biggest gifts from Penny was a sign from Gabe that came with her. You see, shortly before Gabe died he had hit a golf ball into the house. It cracked some siding, so he got a large bucket of about 40 foam golf balls. I never got rid of those golf balls. At some point the bucket fell under the deck and all of those golf balls spread out. Enter Penny. Penny discovered the under deck area as soon as we brought her home, and she loved those golf balls. She would find one and come running out with it. Over and over, for many many weeks. Sometimes she’d chew on them. Sometimes she would just run around with them. Then she started bringing out other things. An old playground ball that Gabe used to play with. A frisbee. Nerf Darts. All bringing sweet memories of the boy I love so much and who I know would love this sweet puppy.

I so wish Gabe was here to play with Buck and Penny and to laugh with us at their silliness, and help clean off their muddy paws. I know he would take such sweet care of these precious dogs.

When I picture Gabe in Heaven, I picture him surrounded by every animal that he interacted with. With animals is where Gabe was happiest. I know that my sweet boy sent Penny to our family.