Man's Best Friend

Man’s best friend….

….is such an overused expression, but those of us who have the companionship of a dog relate to this expression in a very personal way.

A dog owner knows that “A dog is the only animal that loves you more than he loves himself…..”

Irene and I have been blessed with the constant companionship of Gizmo for almost 12 years. I say “Constant Companionship” because Gizmo is a Papillion (French for butterfly – the ears).

A expression Papillion owners are all familiar with is “Owning a Papillion is never having to go to the bathroom alone again….” This is so true since a Papillion is a very social dog and will follow you anywhere…. even into the bathroom.

All good things must come to an end, and so it was with Gizmo. She had been doing poorly for several days and the Vet said it was just a matter of time for the poor little girl.

Irene was visiting her grandchildren for a couple of weeks. I called her in Wall, South Dakota and told her that it was time for Gizmo to leave us. There were tears on both ends of the phone that morning as a feeling of loneliness and emptiness filled our hearts. Irene and I were not even together to comfort each other.

About 2 hours later, Irene called back….

“What would you think about a little boy?” she asked. She explained that she had been checking the paper in the Crossville area for several months for Papillions, knowing that Gizmo was not doing well.

“Tim, it’s fate.” She exclaimed. “I just opened the local paper here in Wall South Dakota and in the classified section is a picture of the cutest little Papillion you ever saw. I think it is meant to be and I have an appointment to meet the breeder tomorrow morning.”

And so it was that "Dakota" became part of our family. He will never take the place of Gizmo, nor should he- we will have fond memories of Gizmo for all times.

Was it too soon to get another Papillion? Not at all. “Dakota” took the heartache out of loosing Gizmo – I would call Irene a couple of times a day to get a “Dakota” update. She took pictures of our new baby on her cell phone and sent them to me. I was in love with the little guy before I ever met him.

This was the first picture I got of Dakota. Irene was holding him in one hand when she took the picture.

Of course, everyone in The Gardens soon heard about our situation (The Gardens is one big family – no secrets) and wanted to know when the new baby was coming home.

Dakota has been home now a little over a month. In such a short time he has taken over the house and captured the hearts of everyone in The Gardens.

Check back soon to get a puppy fix and your "Dakota" update.....