Maggie...

Yes, the rumors are true… I brought home an adorable female chocolate lab puppy on Tuesday night. As you might expect, there’s a somewhat involved story about how I came to be a single father of two and it all starts off with a sign. No, not a burning bush kind of sign, the 8 by 11 inch computer printed version that end up on bulletin boards at work…

Tuesday was my first day back in the office after my month-long hiatus and one of the first things I noticed was a sign advertising “free” full blooded Labradors. I must have made a comment about things that sound too good to be true usually being untrue because one of my coworkers piped up quickly that it was the real deal and she had taken hers home the night before. As it turns out a family ended up with an “accidental” litter and their efforts to sell them and to give them away to friends and neighbors had failed. Mom died while giving birth to the litter of nine and they had been hand raised for the last eight weeks. According to the owners, the herd was eating three 50 pound bags of food a week and was driving them on the fast track to the poorhouse. The bottom line, apparently, was that if they weren’t gone by the end of the week, they would be going to the pound.

I had been toying with the idea of another dog mainly as a buddy for Winston while I was at the office and had more or less made up my mind that I’d do it after the holidays. Of course sometimes, you just have to embrace the opportunities that are given to you and I pulled the trigger, calling the owners and asking for the only chocolate-colored pup in the litter. Unfortunately, she had already been spoken for by someone a few offices down. I had really hoped to get the chocolate, but made up my mind that black was fine too and told her than I’d be over after work. Ultimately, the individual who made first claim decided that three dogs was probably too many for her and backed out. Since I was first out the door, I had pick of the litter at that point and ended up bringing Maggie home.

It’s a little earlier than planned, but I was able to give a beautiful little pup a warm home and a big brother so for the time being it’s back to semi-sleepless nights for me. Still, though, I’m a happy camper and I think the kids are too.