When Heidi Met Hobie

Sometimes a big thing begins with a small bowl. About 2 months ago, maybe even on the day when Hobie was born, I was on one of my usual book-shopping trips to Goodwill. I happened to stray over to the cookware dept., as I am always looking for baking pans. Mixed in with the glassware was this little bowl. I took one look at it and couldn't resist--it looked so happy. I'd been considering adopting a dog, and thought maybe if I had a food dish for him, he might show up. But this one was so tiny, and the dog I was looking to adopt would most likely be around 40 or 50 pounds. Ah, well, maybe I could use it for something else. The lady at the checkout stared at it with appreciation, then asked me if I would be using it for my kitty. I just smiled. The next day, I went to the grocery store and bought a can of dog food. Just in case...

I started visiting shelters religiously. At one point, I fell in love with a sizeable Rottweiler named Gordo. But I later found out that he tipped the scales at 110 pounds, which would not sit well with my landlord. A couple weeks ago, I walked through the shelter doors expecting the usual assortment of mutts and yappy Chihuahuas. But as I turned a corner, I suddenly was greeted by a litter of the most adorable puppies I'd ever seen. When I saw this face--and 8 others like it--staring at me from behind the bars of the cage, I suddenly realized why the bowl had been sitting in my cupboard for weeks. It was the perfect size for a ... puppy?

Nah! There was no way I was adopting a puppy. Just the week before, I had declined my friend Ann's offer of a really sweet Christmas housesit because she had...a puppy. I thought I'd hardly sleep and the little one would need constant entertaining. At my advanced age, I just wasn't set up for such intensive parenting.

Well, life had other plans. It always does. The shelter attendant asked me if I'd like to SEE one of the puppies. Uh oh. Well, sure, why not. "But only if you're seriously interested," he cautioned. Hmmm...certainly I was NOT seriously interested. However, it wouldn't hurt to tell a tiny white lie to get to play with such an adorable puppy for a few minutes. "I don't know how serious you'd like me to be, but I sure wouldn't mind spending some time with that one," I said, pointing at Hobie, who was then known as "Belmont."

He then led me to a large visiting room with little Belmont, who began to quiver and shake, as he'd likely never been away from his brothers and sisters before. We sat down on the couch together and stared into each others eyes. His were tiny little almonds, deep brown with blue at the edges, as if they had just turned color the day before. Damn, he was precious! The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the floor and he was stomping all over me, and I was laughing hysterically at little paws prancing all over my body and a furry, 5-pound being insisting that I play with him. What a good little player! He had me rolling all over the floor trying to catch him, but then would settle down so easily for cuddling and a hug. In those 15 minutes I spent alone with him, I laughed more than I had the entire week before. There was absolutely no turning back. As we headed out the door to the front desk, I told myself that if this were not meant to be, a roadblock would appear. Something would go wrong in the adoption process. It would refuse to happen.

The people at the county shelter are really, really sweet. They took one look at me and this tiny cling-on hunkered down against my chest and burst into these big smiles. I filled out a very brief application, they read it over quickly, and a few minutes later...I was tucking Hobie into his seat in the car.

Oh my God, I now owned a puppy! I have to admit that some of my expectations were confirmed. Being a new puppy mom is a bit like being a new human mom. There is constant watching. Constant playing. Constant listening. Frequent worry. And behavior modification at 10-minute intervals. But the endorphins also kick in, and there are so many angelic moments, so many times when you find yourself laughing and laughing, so much affection and soft fur nuzzling your skin--so much that makes all the stress worth it. Like the little face staring up at you, delirious with happiness and obviously confusing you with God.