ELBEE I am so glad to see the word “mellow” in the title of this post. I certainly don’t need a competing diva in the house. Do you remember when Mariah and Nicki Minaj were on a judging panel together? It was a disaster.
Over the past year since Charley’s been gone, friends have been assuring me that he’d find me another dog.
ELBEE Did she honestly think it was just going to show up and ring the doorbell?
I guess I was hoping for that kind of a miracle. Instead, as I wrote last week, I was in the mountains standing under “Charley’s tree” when I suddenly felt that he wanted me to start the search.
ELBEE I’m totally on board with this. I’m actually looking for a personal assistant.
For the record, I immediately checked rescues, even Doodle rescues, and couldn’t find the right dog. I read stories and looked at countless photos but none of them spoke to me. So, despite the Jewish guilt, which my friend told me is a bad as Catholic guilt, I started researching puppies.
Since then I’ve been a woman on a mission. I don’t think I put this much thought into it when I was having children (sorry daughters). What makes it especially difficult is that I’m really hoping to find my next therapy dog, a very pampered pet with a job. I’ve been so incredibly fortunate with the Doods. Can it possibly happen again?
Today I spoke to a head hunter for a large corporation to see if I could hire him. Just kidding. Elbee, Gus and I were visiting my friend Roberta, who continues her courageous fight against cancer, and I tried to get some free advice from her husband Ira. He doesn’t work with dogs.
ELBEE AND GUS That was embarrassing.
The oldest daughter, the most “just get it done” of the three, told me I was making too big a deal out of it. She said that I should go on line, find a puppy and order it, kind of like shoes. To make her point she sent me photos of two of the cutest Goldendoodle puppies I’ve ever seen. When I asked her where they were from she said she thought they were from some place in Alabama. By sheer coincidence, it turns out they were from the same breeder as Gus. Is that a sign?
In my usual spirit of honesty and oversharing, I admit that I’m obsessing about finding the right dog. At people’s suggestions, I looked at Sheepadoodles and Bernadoodles but I drew the line at Schnoodles. It made me realize that I have a soft spot for Goldendoodles although I have been tempted by some very cute Labradoodles.
This morning while I was walking the dogs, I had one of those brief but meaningful encounters that I have from time to time. An absolutely charming woman, kind of Mary Poppins-ish, stopped to admire them and told me that she had four Pekinese. As we chatted, of course I shared my dilemma. She totally got it. She crossed her fingers, gave me a knowing smile and said “good luck.” It was as if Charley had sent her.
ELBEE Oy vey!
