A K-9 Love story

By Linda Spurlin

Periodically I hear a love story that is worth repeating. Today was one of them. At lunch, a woman passing our table said 'Happy New Year' and mentioned that she had a terrible 2006 and that surely 2007 would be better. I assumed that 'I'm so sorry' expression, and thus encouraged, she went on to tell me that to top it all off, their dog had died right before Christmas and that it just wasn't Christmas without her. I really paid attention then, and asked her how long they had had the dog.

She said that nine years ago, she was eating in the parking lot at Burger King and saw a stray dog there begging food from the cars. She, along with several other drivers, threw French fries to the hungry dog. Then she went home. Two days later the dog appeared at her door....and she lived three miles from Burger King! She tried to find a home for the little dog, but had no luck. Despite having been told that dogs would cause their asthma more problems, the family who therefore had no animals previously, began to fall in love.

The woman took the dog to a vet for a check up and shots. She told the vet how the dog had showed up at their door, and asked him how the dog could have found her, three miles away from where she threw it French fries? There was no doubt in her mind that the dog had sought her out!

The vet could have laughed at her, or he could have told her that it was a coincidence. But no, this wise man told her that the little dog knew that she was the only one in the parking lot who had no dog of her own.

She and I both had tears in our eyes after her tale of loss, even though she moved on to happy stories of the dog and her family over their next nine years together. Loss is loss, human or K9, and I certainly understood the loneliness her family felt their first Christmas without their beloved companion. Of course I suggested another dog to fill the empty space in their hearts, and she admitted they were discussing it....and she left and we finished our lunch.

But her story didn't leave me. It haunts me. And I keep thinking about that wonderful vet that sealed that little dog's success in it's new home with his quick thinking! Who knows what goes through a dog's mind when it chooses a human. Maybe they really can read us and know our needs or sense the absence of love in our lives.

To provide a home for, to contribute to the medical needs of, or just to make a grocery contribution to a dog or cat that is down on their luck, contact Becky's Best Buddies at (509) 935-6635, The Colville Pet Refuge at (509) 732-4126, or Stevens County Cat Care at (509) 935-MEOW.