“Our previous dog, Willis, looked at my husband, Ed, with such unadulterated love and adoration that it melted our hearts,” said Louise.
“When Willis passed, it blew the wind out of Ed’s sails and he sunk into depression.
Four months later, Ed’s
brother passed. Ed fell further into his dark pit.
I mentioned my concern about Ed to our neighbor, Debbie, who responded, ‘Maybe I can help! My Labrador had puppies and one is very special. Come and see her.’
So, my granddaughter, Nova, and I walked to Debbie’s home ‘to look’ at this ‘special’ puppy. At the very least, it would be an entertaining visit.
How could it hurt? After all, our lives
had dramatically changed after Willis’ passing. We had no incentive to go for walks, our laughter at his antics was gone, the house was too quiet and there was no one excitedly waiting for a trip to the store. Our home and lives felt empty.
Debbie’s five wet-nosed bouncing puppies greeted us at the door. Nova and the ‘special’ puppy instantly connected and played together the entire visit.
After we left, the puppy followed us
to the door, sat there, and stared at it for an hour and a half, crying. She knew that we had forgotten something when we left, and it was HER!
I never told Ed about our ‘play date’, but I asked Debbie if I could come for the puppy at 10 p.m. It was late, but that was part of my plan. If Ed said ‘No’, I was prepared to say, ‘How can I paws-ibly return it this late?’
It was unusual for me to leave the house at night, so Ed asked, ‘Where
are you going?’
'I have an errand to run,’ I truthfully responded as I ran out the door.
Minutes later, I was back with a black wiggly-squiggly puppy in my arms.
Ed took one look, he was not smiling, and he exclaimed - twice, ‘What have you done now!’
I announced, ‘I want our lives back. We have always had a dog. We need a dog for walks and laughter. Our lives have
revolved around a dog’s needs and we enjoy it. We are lost without a dog.’ And I handed him the puppy.
There was one problem. I had already booked a vacation for us and our grandchildren, a cabin with a no pet rule. Ed, who was not happy with the new family member volunteered, ‘I will stay and take care of the puppy.’
On my return, I found Jamaica sleeping in our bed - in my spot! Ed and Jamaica had super-glued in my
absence.
Jamaica’s name is unusual, but it has a deep purrs-onal meaning. Because she represents all that is happy and joyful in our lives, and we have loved our seven vacations in Jamaica, we named her after our favorite-happy place.
We receive endless joy watching our grandchildren laugh, play and chase the dog - and the dog chase the kids. Jamaica is strong. She pulls a small rug with six-year-old Nova on it around
the house. Jamaica is such a bonus to our lives.
One night, Debbie was driving home and she saw a man in a white van, in front of our home, calling Jamaica. She asked, ‘Why are you calling the dog?’ He responded, ‘I lost my dog, I am calling him over.’
She gave him the ‘evil eye’ and announced that she knew that it was not his dog. She would not leave until he left.
This is how fast pet-nappings
happen!
Ed was in a hurry to use the bathroom, so instead of letting Jamaica out into the backyard, he had propped open the front door so they could both use their bathrooms at the same time. It scared us!
We learned a valuable lesson! Ed grumbles about Jamaica, but she means more to him than he pretends she does.
I was slated for surgery 1,000 miles from our small town, the stay was to be ten days, so
we brought Jamaica with us. But after 40 days in a hotel she had become a savvy big city dog.
One day, as they walked to the car to visit me, Ed turned to let her in, but she had disappeared. In a frenzy he ran up and down the parking lot. No dog!
Then he saw a lady emerge from the hotel’s restaurant, her pant’s belt had become a makeshift collar/leash for Jamaica - and she had a dog cookie in her hand.
Jamaica is so smart; she figured out that hotel doors open automatically, and she smelled restaurant food, so she headed straight through them to their kitchen!"
