And Then There Were FIVE (cont.)

"Huh?"

Oscar came into our lives in a bit of a strange way. You know how sometimes you meet someone for the first time and connect in such a way that you know deep down that they're going to be a lifelong friend? Well, it was a bit like that.

We had been looking into adopting a dog, visiting shelters and researching online, when one weekend we came across "Joey" at our local PetSmart on adoption Saturday. He was the CUTEST puppy there--a little gray ball or wild hair and a little pink tongue--and he was surrounded by people waiting to play with him. I looked at Ryan and said, "That dog looks like his name should be 'Oscar,'" and we went on our way. For three more weeks we returned to the same PetSmart, and every week "Joey" was the star of the show.

I hadn't held him or even played with him, but every week we were surprised to see him there (and eventually came to refer to him as "Oscar" between ourselves). On the fourth week, I finally went up to a volunteer and said, "That dog is meant to be my dog; we've been coming here for four weeks, and each week we've been sure he'd be adopted out, but each week he's been here waiting for me." The volunteer admitted that "Joey" was her favorite foster dog and that she'd had a ton of adoption applications for him, but had been extra picky.  Luckily, we made the cut.

Oscar is a quirky dog, and he never ceases to crack us up. He "talks" (not a growl, but friendlier); he loves having lots of people around; he smells everything in detail, like he's cataloging the scents.  He's Ryan's little buddy, and when Ryan's traveling for work, he's the protector of the house (which means long nights of prowling the backyard and barking at anything that seems suspicious, which means he barks at everything). We've laughed at how he's already "babysitting," i.e. laying on my stomach (he's light) so I can feel his little puppy heartbeat right over the baby. He's a sweet guy, and remembering how he came into our lives reminds me how much better our lives are with him in it.