My Sister Wanted a Dog

My sister wanted a dog.

She and her husband live out in the country. A mile off the road down a dirt path. Their home can’t even be seen from the road. So she doesn’t have neighbors. Which anyone with neighbors knows can be both good and bad. If can be bad if you’re feeling in need of company.

Her husband works a half an hour away as a pharmacist so she is often home alone. Add to that the pain she suffers from severe scoliosis and her occasional migraines and you can understand why she’d want a pooch by her side.

She lost a dog she loved last year. And she missed “Baby” something fierce. She started searching for a dog and had little success. Rescue organizations have wait lists. Pounds don’t like to adopt to folks without a fenced-in-yard, but in the country, why would she have one? She searched the internet and called pounds and became more and more dejected. Wasn’t there a dog out there for her somewhere?

So she called me and asked me to find her a dog. I said I’d keep an eye out, but I thought it unlikely that I’d find one with fenced-in-yard requirements and such. I just couldn’t imagine having the perfect dog land in my lap.

But then one day, several months later, on Facebook I saw a post a church friend shared about a miniature poodle that needed a home. I thought “hmm,” convinced myself that that pup had found a home long ago, and went for a walk. But it was like having an itch you really wanted to scratch. I kept thinking about it.

After my walk I found that post again, which referenced a nearby vet. I called the vet and they called the person searching for a home for the poodle. Turns out the poodle belonged to her grown child. Life had happened, kids, jobs. And not much time was left for that little pup…who still needed a home!

And the person with the poodle – had the same name as my sister. Elaine. And the poodle? In good health, fully vetted and in the process of being groomed. I couldn’t believe it.

And when did this happen? On the very day my sister had to drive 100 miles into the Triangle for an appointment at her migraine specialist.

The first ELAINE gave her go ahead. “I WANT HIM!”

The second ELAINE recognized the miracle it was meant to be.

And so the second Elaine and I made a plan. When my sister was called back to her appointment, I would text her and she would bring the pup to the doctor’s office for my sister. And also she would bring his crate, his bed, his vet records, his food, his heartworm pills, everything. She works in a vet’s office and loves dogs too, has her own, but immediately recognized that this small, seven pound, bundle of brown fur was a very small emissary of God.

And so it came to pass, that I was outside a doctor’s office waiting for the second ELAINE and her bundle of joy. And soon I was accompanied by my sister’s physician and one of his staff members. And soon the second ELAINE pulled up, right as the first ELAINE and her husband made it outside the office to stand with us as we all waited with bated breath.

And it was love at first sight.

The tiny poodle went right to my brother-in-law and pranced right over to my sister. Once he was placed in her arms he wreathed her face in poochie smooches.

So my sister, her husband, and their new family member climbed back in the Jeep and turned it towards the country, where that little pup has filled so many empty spaces and is now the heart of the home.

He’s been on outings and errands, vacations, and doctor’s appointments. And mostly, he’s been right in my sister’s lap, as he was truly intended to be. Because God knows the desires of our hearts, even if we guard them closely and only tell a soul or two. Or a sister, who just happened to see a post on Facebook.

 Trust in the Lord and do good;

    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

                             Psalms 37:4-5