Dear Little Sis, did I ever tell you about the time God gave me the "Perfect Dog"? It all began one day after a long time feeling that something was missing in my life...
"Do you mean it"?, I responded with a shocked and delighted expression on my face. I couldn't believe my husband finally said yes to having a small house dog. We had been Chocolate Lab Breeders for over 20 years and when our last male died unexpectedly, we decided to hang up our kennels boots and remain pet-free. After of couple of years, I was missing the warm fuzzy feeling when a canine friend lovingly gazes into your eyes. My life didn't seem complete. Our chocolate labs were working dogs, bred for hunting ducks and upland game, and always lived outside in a kennel. Having a dog inside the house was something that my husband never wanted, but now his heart was open to meeting my longings and wants and completing this missing part of my life, so out of the blue he announced that he would agree to have an inside dog. Now our life would be complete.
I decided that a Miniature Schnauzer would be the dog for us. My daughter had owned one years ago and I always admired their size, temperment and intellience. Early one morning we got a phone call from our son-in-law. He had heard about our interest in a dog from our grandchildren and he knew of an 7-year old dog that someone was getting rid off. I couldn't believe the timing of this call, just days after my husband had agreed to get a dog. Surely, God was opening a doggie door!
But, after a day's consideration, I decided that I didn't want such an old dog, over half of his life would be gone. Shortly after this decision, my husband came home one afternoon and said he saw a Miniature Schnauzer down the street. We jumped into the car and at the owner's door we told him of the Mission we were on. He showed us his cute dog, although it looked a lot smaller than my daughter's dog. He told us of the breeder who actually lived in our small town. Again, I was thrilled as I sensed God was leading us the way. We called the breeder and made an appointment to come over that evening to look at a litter of pups.
When we drove up to the property, I could hear the barking of puppies and my anticipation grew. When we went into the backyard, 8 pairs of little eyes greeted us. They were really cute! I was a little taken back when the breeder told us that they were $600 a piece! That was twice a much as we had sold our Labs for one-tenth of the dog. I reflected that I shouldn't let money come in between me and happiness, so I asked her if we could see the parents. We walked to a different area of the property and were confronted with 2 of the smallest, mangiest, dirtiest, and ungroomed Schnauzers I had ever seen. I couldn't consider purchasing a puppy, especially at that price from someone who kept their animals in such shoddy condition. I heard the "doggie door" loudly slam shut.
I went home discouraged. I was confused but not undaunted. It was now late in the evening and I got on the Internet and began a search for Miniture Schnauzer breeders. I couldn't believe that I found an outstanding breeder within an hour of our home. I immediately called and talked to Donna who informed me that she did indeed had puppies, but they were show quality and sold for $1500. But she did have adults dogs, who she had retired from the show ring and would sale them only $300! She sent me a picture, I couldn't believe my eyes, here was my perfect dog, Mister.
The next day we met Mister and took him for a walk. He was as amazing as his picture. I couldn't believe she was selling him. She recommended that we take him for the weekend before purchasing. She also told us if we bought him she would retain his breeding rights, for he was considered about a $10,000 animal! I couldn't imajine why I would need any time to consider buying him for God had brought me the Perfect Dog, right?
