Our family has grown!

I wrote in an earlier post about Rey, the cute dog who found his way to our doorstep, and about how he had to go back to his owners.  Well, I’m happy to report that the dog is back, and he’s now officially a member of our family!

I was terribly sad after Rey left us, and spent all week alternating between plotting to get him back and waiting hopefully for him to come back.  While I was at work today, I got a call from a neighbor saying that the dog had gotten loose and was wandering around in the alley behind our house.  Mary, the neighbor, said she’d grab him and put him away for about an hour, the length of time it would be until I could run home to get the dog.   She called back about 30 minutes later saying the dog had gotten out and she couldn’t find him (Mary is elderly, so I couldn’t be mad that she didn’t run after him.  She might have broken a hip!).  Nonetheless, I went home and she and I went down to Rey’s house to see if we could find him there and looked around for him, but didn’t have any luck.

Now, I was sad about that turn of events, but Mike seemed to think maybe it was for the best.  I called him and he reminded me that the dog wasn’t ours and that even if I found him, I’d have to take him back to his owners and then I’d just be upset again.  I couldn’t really wait around anymore and needed to go back to work, so I got in my car and was heading down the street when I saw the dog in the alley, almost like he was waiting for me!

I pulled over and called the dog to me.  He came immediately and flopped onto his back for belly rubs.  I took him back to his house and called out to see if anyone was there.  A man came up to the fence (the same fence that the dog had escaped through) and we talked.  “Is this your dog?  He got out last weekend and came to my house, and now here he is again.  I think he likes me.”  The guy said, “yeah, he’s a good dog.  He was missing last night and today; we didn’t know where he was.”  That emboldened me and I finally asked, “can I buy him from you?”

The man looked at me like I was crazy, then came to his senses, asked me how much I’d offer ($100), and said it was his brother’s dog and that he’d go ask him.  He disappeared to go ask his brother and then came back to say no, the dog wasn’t for sale.  I started to get a little upset at that point.  The brother came out and I wheedled, trying to convince him to sell me the dog, which they were calling Champion (hello!  Have you seen the pictures in the previous post?  That dog is NOT a “Champion!”).  When they said no again, I couldn’t help it and started to cry, and said “well, if he’s not for sale, then I should go, because this is too painful.”  I told the dog to go inside, back onto his owner’s property, and he wouldn’t go.  Finally, I started to walk away and the brother yelled after me, “$200!”  I turned around and said, “okay!  let me go home and get the money, I’ll be right back!”

I ran home, gathered the cash, wrote out a little note saying that he was transferring ownership of the dog to me (Mike’s idea, and a good one at that) , and ran back to their house.  I gave the guy the money, he gave me the dog, and Rey and I went home.

So far, a few hours into owning the dog for real, so good.  This may be the best $200 we’ve ever spent!