Could you resist this face?

Neither could I. Long story short, we’re a two-dog family again.

Last Saturday we made a quick trip to town to go to Myrorna (the Salvation Army Thrift Store). As we pulled into the parking lot I noticed a little dog tied to the light pole. I developed an instant case of puppy love and made a beeline for the dog as soon as I got out of the car. She was barking her fool head off, but acted friendly enough, so I put out a hand for her to sniff, then started petting her when that went okay.

I can’t explain it, but I was totally drawn to this dog and when I caught up with Olof I said, “If I see the person who has that dog, I’m going to ask if I can have it.” He’s heard that from me more than once, but he figured he was safe since I had never actually done it.

Anyway, we shopped around Myrorna and bought a couple of things, then went out and walked over to one of the stores next door. The dog was still out there and still barking. After we were done shopping in the second store, Olof and the kids went to the car while I went back to Myrorna to use their bathroom. The dog was still there, still barking, and had started digging. While I waited for the bathroom to be free, I asked the clerk at Myrorna if she knew anything about the dog. She said she didn’t, but that it had been out there barking for an hour or so.

When I went back out again, there was a middle-aged woman untying the dog from the pole, so I walked up to her and asked her if she was interested in finding a new home for her dog. Of course, she was a bit taken aback and wanted to know why I was asking, but after we started talking she admitted that she had been thinking about finding a new place for her because she just didn’t have the time or the energy for her. I gave her my phone number and she said she’d think about it.

When I didn’t hear from her after a couple of days I figured she’d changed her mind and even said to Olof this afternoon that I figured she probably wasn’t going to give me her dog. Later on, though, she called me and asked if I were still interested. I said I was and we made arrangements to go see her.

We got to the woman’s apartment about an hour after she and I talked on the phone, and we came home with our new dog shortly thereafter. Her name is Lucy and she’s eleven months old. She’s allegedly a mix of Rottweiler, German Shepherd, and Norwegian Elkhound, but I’m not buying it since she’s smaller than even the smallest of those breeds. Whatever she is, she’s a sweet little thing and I think I’ll keep her.