We see bumper stickers like this all the time and little did we know that very soon we would be thinking the same thing:
For whatever reason, I’m not much on signs and portents, having always associated that kind of talk with New Age thinking and pixie dust. No more! Because Buddy came to us after two unmistakable signs in the space of a few hours and we have thanked our lucky stars ever since. Here’s Buddy, our new resident and family member for a little over a week now, sitting next to My Lady, his new best friend:
Here is the inexplicably strange set of facts which led Buddy to us. Very briefly, Sign One involved the fact that I never, never watch television of any kind during the day, probably a remnant of the days I was working all the time in the salt mines of the Law Practice known as George and George, Ltd. My Lady, on the other hand, watches a lot of old movies, etc., and one day I became interested in a charming movie about a mean-spirited old curmudgeon who eventually -very long story short- was reminded of how much he had loved a dog in his younger days. The movie, Dean Spanley, ended with a poignant scene of the old curmudgeon (played brilliantly by Peter O’Toole) playing in the snow with his brand new puppy. Having talked for some time about getting a dog-here in the Florida Panhandle almost everyone has at least one!- as that movie ended I told My Lady that I was just about ready to head for the Rescue Center and see if they had a “War Dog” I could take off their hands. (For reference, see my post entitled “This Is My Hill: Saving the War Dogs of Afghanistan Abandoned by Biden”, here). A few hours later, My Lady was checking the neighborhood news site and up popped this message, and Sign Two made it clear that I was destined to have a new little friend:
We are trying to find a home for a small dog we saved who doesn’t appear to have an owner. He is an older neutered male. He is very quiet and well mannered. Does not beg or bark. He just wants to be near another human. He would make a wonderful little lap dog for someone who is looking for a loyal companion. If you or anyone you know who might find a place in their heart and home, for this sweet little dog, to live out his golden years, it would be greatly appreciated.
Our fate was sealed! As it happens, Buddy, My Lady and I are all in our Golden Years, so our mutual rescue was a classic win-win for all!
Of course, as with everything in life, there is a bit of a rough spot, so to speak, and his name is Leonard, My Lady’s very large cat who has been with us for years, and who is none too happy about his new “housemate”; however, they seem to have settled into something of a standoff so perhaps it will work itself out as things in Nature have way of resolving themselves. Here’s Leonard, with an expression which if put into words would not be printable, to put it mildly:
Summing up, it seems that thanks to Dean Spanley, the old curmudgeon who rediscovered his love of dogs just before it was too late, My Lady with the Eagle Eyes who spotted the notice for Buddy, our wonderful neighbors who gave him a temporary safe space, the patience of Leonard and, of course, Buddy himself, a number of highly improbable signs lined up for a safe and hopefully good life for one more lost pup.
I might have to rethink all that New Age and pixie dust stuff! Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?