Wanna hear a really boring story? I asked mom that question countless times during her lovely visit to San Diego last week, and she always said yes. She also always assured me afterwards that the stories were not at all boring, but I think she had to say that because she's my mom. You are under no such obligation.
Last Monday was a big day. Julie, Mom and Colleen were in
town, I had taken the day off from work, and we had been on the go since dawn (ish)
with a stunning variety of activities that had challenged each of us on
physical, culinary, and leisurely levels. James was hanging out with a friend
at home. Bill and Clara had suffered
through a work/school day, the poor fools, but he had packed up surf gear and
picked Clara up from school and we were all set to meet up in OB for a celebratory
Bucket of Love and some surf spectating. Although Tower 2 was inexplicably
closed, it was an idyllic scene nonetheless with the sun just beginning to set
and an acceptable albeit lesser patio table secured for happy hour.
OB is a dog town, if you are on a patio you can be sure that
there will be dogs nearby. The patio where we sat had built in leash hooks,
water bowls on the ground, and a menu of selections for your canine kids. This day was no different, there were various dogs around on the patio and Clara
made herself familiar with all of them, including a little brown spaz who was
chasing the birds around with abandon. We couldn’t figure out who her people were because she was visiting everyone, and we all assumed that she belonged to another
table. We soon heard some murmurs from the restaurant staff that informed us
that this dog was on the loose and had been around for a few hours. Animal
Control was mentioned, glances were exchanged, and something was going to
happen.
Clara jumped to action, sitting with the dog and keeping her
in line so no one would kick her out. The dog responded, practically
crawling into my girl's lap and finally sitting still for a second. I went in to the restaurant
to ask if they had a leash or rope of some sort that we could use to secure the
pup while we ate, then we’d figure out what to do with her.
Here’s the thing: my people are dog people, through and
through. We’ve always had an explicit family agreement that although we were
not allowed to seek out dogs by doing foolish things like visiting the shelter,
we would most definitely rescue one if the situation ever presented itself.
A guy came out of the restaurant with a shoelace, of all
things. He called the dog and tried to get the lace around her neck to lead her
off. We asked if it was his dog, he nodded and coaxed her away. My brave girl
ran right up to him and said: “are you sure that’s your dog?” and he let us know
in broken English that he was told to get the stray off the patio. He said he
was taking her out back to the alley and would let her loose down there.
Not on our watch, he wasn’t.
We took the shoelace, we took the dog, we talked about
calling animal control but giving them our contact info so that we’d have first
dibs at adopting her if her owners weren’t found. We hadn’t been down to the
beach yet and wanted to watch Clara surf before sunset… we were a little
flummoxed, and also pretty buzzed. Then a young couple walked over and asked
what we were going to do, we explained our idea about animal control and they
said that they love rescuing dogs! They would take her home, put up signs, post
an ad on Craig’s list, etc. I immediately handed over the shoelace, it was
perfect. I gave the girl my cell phone number and said I’d help in any way that
I could. Off we went for fun in the sunset!
And we got right on with our happy vacation lives.
The next day, I got a text from the rescue hero saying that she'd had the dog scanned and she had a microchip! Her name was Sam. Hooray for found dogs! The owners were in Utah, she was reaching out to them and had also posted ads and messages as discussed. If I'm ever a lost dog, she is the person I want in charge. We kept in touch over the next several days. She heard from the Utah owners who said that they'd had to rehome their two dogs, Sam and Jade, because their baby girl was allergic. But it was Jade who had been adopted out to a family travelling to San Diego in their RV, Sam had been adopted locally. Turns out the microchips were mixed up somehow, this was Jade.
You see where this is going, right?
The RV couple hadn't even looked for her. After days of texting and talking back and forth with the rescue hero and the original Utah owner, we realized that our family promise had been put exactly into the perfect course of action to bring our baby Jade home to us. She's a total dreamboat, almost 2 years old and will be in perfect health once she packs a few pounds on that bony frame.
Welcome home, kiddo. We can no longer imagine living without you, and we didn't even know we were waiting for you.
10 comments:
LOVE!! I cannot let my kids read this lol! She is so cute and she hit the jackpot with you guys! xoxo
Aw, so sweet! I was wondering how Jade entered your life - she's lucky she found you! xo
Oh Em Gee so much. What a lucky pooch, to have adopted you all. The jackpot is right.
I have to say, she completes you. I texted your girl to see how her new baby sister was doing ("so cute!") then asked what Moki thinks about it all. "shes okay, she was jealous at first but shes getting better".
So, congrats to all six of you! What an adorable family. And you all even look alike!
And *you're* the hero, Jacqueline. Well done.
Love you.
Ellie
she is a treasure! i'm so glad you all found each other. what a lucky dog, and what a lucky family xoxoxo
I loved being part of the whole "adoption" process. These Kennedys of mine are true dog lovers. Jade/Sam/Charlotte (Jacquie thinks she looks like a Charlotte, huh?) is adorable - my newest granddog....
love you all and miss you madly...... mamasan
We are truly blessed to have been able to be a part of this! I'm so grateful Jade found the perfect home! Seriously no other family can compete, you guys are perfect !
We are truly blessed to have been able to be a part of this! I'm so grateful Jade found the perfect home! Seriously no other family can compete, you guys are perfect !
I cannot believe that I didn't yet comment on this. I read it on Friday and loved it so completely. What a story, what a happy ending, for, and this never seems to happen, *EVERYBODY.*
I cannot wait to meet Ms Jadykins in the flesh.
Great storytelling, J. I didn't want it to end.
xoxo,
b
Best story and can't even get over how cute that pup is!
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