How We (Almost) Acquired A New Dog

Last night was another peaceful evening in the Tan household.

Until we heard a strange noise in the backyard.

It was a noise unlike any other - not human, but not an identifiable animal either. In fact, it sounded spooky.

Hubby and I looked at each other and the first thing I said was, "Let Scottie in."

Scottie is our 9 yo miniature schnauzer and king of the backyard. He comes indoors when it gets dark, or if it's raining or cold.

We could tell Scottie didn't much like the disturbance in his territory either, though he wasn't making much of a fuss compared to our neighbours' dog, who sounded like there was an intruder in the vicinity.

When hubby went outdoors to investigate, what did he find but this gorgeous black puppy, who was whining (the source of the strange noise) and positively terrified because it was clearly lost.

Hubby brought it indoors; I called for the kids to come and see.

Beth and J were beside themselves with excitement.

"Aww it's so cute. Can we keep it?" the 3 yo wanted to know.

The frightened pup climbed into a cardbox box that had a towel in it, and I wondered aloud about getting some warm milk. It was just like in Beth's school readers: child finds lost puppy... child looks after puppy and everyone is happy...

While J played with the puppy, I took this 33 sec video.


Then we heard a commotion out on the main street.

Voices shouting...Voices approaching.

"Maybe someone has lost their puppy," I said. Hubby opened the door and went out into the street as two people drew nearer, calling out something we couldn't hear. It was obvious they were looking for the puppy.

"Have you lost a puppy?" asked hubby.

"Yes!"

It was our neighbour from across the street, followed by her teenage son. She explained that she'd gone out to get herself a dog and seen some pups that had been badly treated and she'd bought the lot. Seven of them. She's now looking for homes for them.

"I opened the garage door and four of them ran out."

"We found him. He came in through our backyard," said hubby.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" exclaimed the teenager. You could tell he was so relieved; I'm guessing he must really like dogs.

So the girls had to give up their dream of a puppy. J was particularly reluctant to return the puppy.

But at least we still have the video to remember how we almost got ourselves a new puppy!