My Second Dog

23 April 2020

In the Spring of 2018, I found myself faced with a totally unexpected yet magnificent offer. For reference, my fondness for dogs is not something that I've ever tried to keep hidden. My whole family knows ever since I have existed, I loved dogs. It took my first ten years of life to finally spread enough of this enthusiasm for my canine-reluctant parents to agree to let me have a dog. That is when I got Chaz as a puppy from the newspaper classifieds. He was initially the family dog but it did not take long before he was considered fully mine. He is now 13 and I am so grateful to have had him for over half my life now.

With that said, before I got Chaz, my actual chances to spend time with dogs were few and far between. The only relatives in the Midwest that had a dog was my grandparents on my father's side. They lived an hour away and the best part of visiting was getting to spend time with their English Springer Spaniel named Sam.

Sam has since passed away along with my paternal grandfather. But being that my grandmother Diana always has had a dog, she was eventually able to get a new puppy and not have to be alone. However, shortly after acquiring her new dog, the people she got her from offered for her to take in an adult dog who they used to breed puppies and was no longer able to. She agreed and for a year she had two small dogs who did not get along well at all.

I loved visiting for that year because it meant I got to see her dogs, including her new one who I absolutely loved. I joked each time I visited that I would be stealing her home with me, but it was unfortunately laughed off and I always left empty-handed.

In May two years ago, me and my parents went out to lunch with my grandma around the time of Mother's Day. During the meal, I offhandedly reminded her that if she ever didn't want her dog anymore then I would be more than willing to take her. I wasn't expecting anything of this comment, however. Yet two days later when I checked my phone during my break at work, I had received a text message from my dad. He was telling me that his mother told him that I could have her dog!

I hardly knew what to think, but I did not hesitate with accepting the offer. The rest of the day was spent in a haze of confusion at how I was suddenly going to pick up this dog. I almost wondered if my grandmother was really trying to give away her naughtier puppy, but it really turned out to be the older dog she was giving me. She was tired of the two of them squabbling due to the younger's overabundance of energy.

It did not take long after bringing her home for us to bond. I renamed her Piper, because I wasn't too fond of her original name Lola. She gets along perfectly with Chaz and it just feels natural to have her here. That Christmas at my grandmother's house I mentioned that Piper was the best present I ever received.