Sighs Of The Heart
Puppy Size | The Puppy
Finding Just The Right Puppy
Sighs Of The Heart leaps into my mind when.......no, let me tell you about our dog first. We adopted a small dog who was dumped at 10 o'clock at night in the rain. We watched out our office window as a woman dumped something on the rail road tracks next to a busy street. She got back in her car and left. The was a "lump" next to what she dumped. Due to the angle I could not tell what the "lump" was. I opened the door and it was a small dog next to some food --- snack chips.
If I walked toward the dog it moved farther away. When I retreated it would come back a discreet distance from me. No matter what my wife or I did, we couldn't get near it. We tossed ham and cat food to the dog and it would eat it, but would not come close to either of us.
Finally, my wife said to tie a string on the door and lure the dog into the office with food. We did this and then backed far back into the office. The dog finally came into the office to get more food. We pulled the string which pulled the door closed and trapped the little guy. We were only going to keep him long enough to get him to the animal shelter or dog rescue. That was 3 years ago and he is still with us. The perfect little dog.
We named him, "Poky" because he poked his nose in our door and into our lives. He has no bad habits. He was totally housebroken. He does not bark much. He is calm. He does not jump and bounce around. He is about as laid back a little dog as you could want. He does not take up much room in our bed.
When we had him neutered, the vet said he was about 1 1/2 years old, so he is close to 5 now.
OK, to the point of this page, other than introducing Poky. When we wake up............WELL, read the little story below and then I will tell you what Poky does in the morning. I am sorry to keep putting you off, but this tale (tail) needs everything to be complete.
The Puppy -Puppy Size
SIGHS OF THE HEART © ----- Author Bob Perks (published
with written permission from the author, Bob Perks)
"She keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this
shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all
of this," the woman told the volunteer.
"What is it she keeps asking for?" she asked. "Puppy size!" "We have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for." "I know. We have seen most of them," she said in frustration. Just then the young child came walking in the office. "Well, did you find one?"
"No, not this time," she said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?" The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed. "You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.
The young child took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I bet we'll find one this weekend," the child said.
Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," dad finally said in frustration. "We don't want to hear anything more about "puppy size" either," mom added.
Sure enough they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now, the young child knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.
Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.
The young girl walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."
It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer. "Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy.
Mom, startled by all the commotion, came running. "What? Are you sure? How do you know?" she asked. "It's the puppy sighs!"
"Yes, it the same size as all the other puppies you held the last few weeks," mom said. "No, not 'size' -- sighs. When I held him in my arms he sighed," she said. "So?"
"Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me "Love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sighs!"
The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug her child she did a little of both.
"Mom, every time you hold me I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said.
Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart."
Close your eyes for a moment and dream about the love that makes you sigh.
I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a
sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a
hot day. They are the sighs of the heart.
Bob Perks BobPerks.com
Did you like that? Well, to finish my story, we wake up each morning with Poky on the bed at our feet. When one of us starts petting him he sighs. There is no other word to describe it. It is not a bark or other dog noise, it is a true sigh of pleasure that keeps on until you quit petting him. He does not do this at any other time.
"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
POKY At The Beach
