Sunday, February 15, 2009

Valentine's Day Change of Plans

This year for Valentine's Day, Matt and I decided to stay in. 
It was actually really nice.  
We had planned to make dinner and get dressed up and have an in-house dance party with ourselves. 

We went to the store to buy some steaks and other things for our "romantico" dinner. 
On our way to the store, I saw an old little Cocker Spaniel walking around in the snow by himself.  Hours later, when Matt was walking Axle, he saw the Spaniel again, but this time, he was with a large (overfed) tank of a black lab with a purple harness on.  He couldn't find the owners anywhere near where the dogs were, so he decided to bring them home so we could see if there was any way to find the owners or possibly take them to a vet and see if they had been microchipped.  


When we brought the dogs home, Axle didn't like that there were two dogs in his backyard that he couldn't play with.  The Spaniel was so small and old (and going blind) that we couldn't risk putting our energetic one year old with him.  After looking over the little one, we discovered that the dog wasn't really in great shape, he didn't have a collar, tufts of hair were matted and coming out and we began to wonder if the little dog was homeless.
The black lab had tags linking her to a vet in Golden, but they were already closed for the day.
I was amazed at how quickly the two dogs had bonded to each other.  They were so very different (in size and personality), but already seemed to be great friends.  

So we fed and watered the dogs and called around to see who was open and who could help us.  When we tried to track the rabies tag on the black lab, no one could pull up any records - so that was a dead end.  We eventually found a vet that could help us scan the dogs (and seemed willing enough to help).  The only catch was, if we couldn't find a microchip or the owners, the dogs would be taken to the pound by Jeffco, (which would most likely be a death sentence).  
Matt and I had decided ahead of time that we would let the dogs stay with us until the owners were found.  But we were worried that we wouldn't find the owner of the Spaniel.  We took the dogs into the vet and the black lab had a chip!  We were so glad.  At least one of the dogs would get home.     
Not only that, but when the vet tech inquired further, she discovered that the two dogs belonged to the same owner!  No wonder the two seemed so comfortable together!  Upon hearing they would both being going home, I, true to form, got a little misty-eyed.  I was so relieved! 

After waiting for about forty five minutes, the owners came to pick up the dogs.  Apparently, they had been moving and the men of the house didn't realize the dogs were in the house (um, yeah, it was cold outside).  So the little Houdinis escaped.  I don't think the owners even realized the dogs were gone until we called to tell them we had their dogs.    

It was wonderful to see the dogs reunited with their people!    

Matt apologized for "ruining" Valentine's Day.  I was surprised.  This little adventure was perfect.  We were spending time together and I was being reminded of some of the reasons I fell in love with him.  Matt is so willing to go out of his way to help others.  He is so kind and generous and has a gentle, compassionate spirit. 

I am so lucky to have him!  



     


 

2 comments:

Jewels said...

Matt is such a sweet guy and you are lucky and he's lucky to have you too! I was crying by the time I finished this. I am a sappy emotional mess when it comes to dogs. So glad they found a home (for their sake and yours - wow those vet and food bills can be expensive!). Anyways, sounds like a perfect valentine's day to me! :) Oh and thanks for the comment on my blog - you are hilarious with your workout story! HAHA

caroline said...

you should most def write that story down!
i see it now! a kids story about those two sweet dogs who are best friends and get lost but then found...oh wait i guess homeward bound is a bit like that + a cat. haha
i love you a lot. and really wish i could have been there to see those cute puppies in person.
glad valentine's was a great day!