Happy Tails.

So I'm obsessed with two things right now:

1. Little dogs (as in finding one to adopt).
2. Craig's List.

I'll deal with each obsession separately, but in the end, you'll see how they come together to bring about a one happy ending.

Little dogs.

As in wee sized; a four legged companion. I possess a need to have one that is akin to my biological clock going off in Costco when I was 27. I was standing in the check out line with Marky while watching a baby who was sitting on her mother's lap in the food court. Said baby was dressed in pink, had big fat cheeks and a mouth so precious her lips looked like a rosebud. She was about 6 months old, drooling and had one tooth sprouting from her lower gum. And every time she and I would make eye contact, she'd squeal with delight and kick her chubby legs. After about 2 minutes of this, I burst into tears. I was convinced my internal clock was ticking so loudly someone was going to mistake me for a time bomb and I was completely incensed that my husband was oblivious.
(I may or may not have wailed: I WANT A BABY!! )

Our daughter was born the following July.

I've wanted a wee dog for years now.....about 4 to be exact. Which is precisely the age of our dog Benelli. Coincidence? Only in my dreams. I threw a hissy fit over wanting a dog and argued that I worked part time so I'd be home more than the dog would be left alone; having a dog would be a great way to teach our kids (then 6 & 4) responsibility and since we were not adding anymore 2 legged Monsters to our family, lets add a four legged one; one that could sit in our laps and lick our faces and just love us.

Mark finally agreed and we commenced to finding our forever dog.

Only someone forgot that I specifically said no puppies; no large breeds; and for god's sake can we pick a goddamn dog that doesn't shed?; so what we ended up with was an 8 week old, (red) Golden Retriever that everyone mistakes for an Irish Setter. She is the sole contributor to the tufts o' dog hair that are constantly a blowin' through my house!

Benelli was intended to be my husband's bird dog but she quickly became the family dog and has ultimately ended up being my son's best friend. They go everywhere together, sleep together, and Samuel is her staunchest supporter. He gets very upset when I refer to Benelli as a "dumb dog" and he wailed for hours when I said I was going to turn the dog into a rug after she chewed up my black, pointy toed mules (that screamed Sex in the City chic!). Benelli spent the first two years of her life in a constant battle with me over who was going to be the Alpha Bitch in this family. I prevailed the winner and I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Mark telling the dog that I am the biggest bitch she'll ever meet; and considering the fact that I can hold a grudge longer than anyone he's ever met, her recent "incident" with my favorite pair of heels did not bode well for her. Benelli's "puppy stage" lasted 3 1/2 years and consisted of shoe devouring, submissive peeing (on my hard wood floors), and an uncontrollable need to jump on people as they enter the house. Thankfully, she's grown up and learned some manners. But it took a lot of patience (of which I have little to spare), a lot of love and a firm belief in the fact that Benelli was, and is, a wonderful dog. She has imprinted on all of us. She is pack driven and if something separates her from her pack, she literally goes bat shit crazy. She's like a super-nosey Tween: sister has got to be in the middle of every one's business all the time! She loves her family and I have absolutely no doubt that if she perceived a danger, she would give up her life to protect us.

And yet I still bitch and piss and moan about all the shedding, and her stinky carcass which requires a trip to the beauty shop every 4 weeks, and her summer allergies to grass which give her "doggie hot spots" and require a trip to the vet for a Cortisone shot in her ass, and the fact that she has more emotional food issues than I do!

And I'm the dumb ass that wants another a dog. Specifically a little dog. Why? Part of it stems from the fact that I grew up with little dogs. I find them comforting; they make me all warm and fuzzy. And frankly, at 84 lbs, Benelli is too goddamn big to sit in my lap! I think KB said it best when she said: Who doesn't want something of our own; and who wants nothing from us other than to be with us and love us.

And then she made me swear that I would not dress the wee dog in sweaters of any kind!

The Monsters are on board, so long as I promise we are not getting rid of Benelli. And Mark has finally.......acquiesced. With a few stipulations. He & I need to agree on the dog and it needs to be healthy. This last caveat stems from me showing him pictures of Tilly, the one-eyed terrier (she and her one eye were adorable!) and dragging the entire family down to meet Scotter the Pomeranian, who, upon further investigation, suffered from a condition that caused his knee to "blow out" periodically (Really, what's the big deal there? You just pop it back into place!).

So. I'm looking for an agreeable little dog, who is healthy and who is also NOT a puppy. I give up when it comes to the shedding........sigh. I would prefer an older dog, 5-7 yrs, and I'd like to rescue said dog because it's positively sickening and sad that there are so many unwanted dogs in this world.

With my quest for a wee dog officially underway, I spend all my spare time trolling the local Humane Societies, Petfinder and........

Craig's List.

CL is like Facebook, but without the "friending" and "farming" (shut up, Lynda!). People can post their wares in the specific categories of CL for sale or trade; you can seek employment opportunities; seek a mate or seek out a discussion in the forum section. I'm a newcomer to the CL phenomenon and still consider myself a novice at navigating my way around it. Because of my Wee Dog Quest, I stick mostly to the Pets section.

Until last week, I was limiting myself to just the Salem CL postings for Pets. I cannot recall what prompted me to navigate to the CL Oregon page other than the thought: If I'm trolling Humane Societies and Petfinder for multiple counties and cities, why not CL? So I cruised through all the towns my family and I are familiar with and ended my troll in Portland.

On that particular day, there were over 3oo pet postings. 300! In a DAY. Lost dogs; found dogs; cats & kittens to re-home; particular animal breeds being sought. It was overwhelming. So I limited myself to only opening the posts if they included a picture of the dog. But then some of the post titles became too intriguing....such as "For the idiot who can't spell mosquito". Or, "Thanks for ruining my life re: lost dog". Apparently, there was an idiot who could not spell mosquito and this particular Craig's Lister was taking that individual to task for it and their misrepresentation about some kind of exotic fish. Whoa. The individual who's life was ruined was absolutely FIRED UP over a CL post being "flagged" and ultimately removed from the site. Because the post was taken down, he could no longer contact the people who found his lost dog. Who he'd had for 6 years...and without said dog, his life was ruined. This particular post launched a wave of consecutive posts from fellow irate Craig's Listers, all of whom are convinced that "the CL Police" are a posse of "fat women, who have no man in their lives, and have nothing better to do than to sit at home and read other people's post and 'flag' those that they don't approve of."

I'm not kidding.

And I was dying laughing.

As in hysterically.

In edition to the hostile "forums" (read: rants), there is a beavy of Craig's Listers who simply cannot spell. This not only irritates me (it's female. Not "femel".) it just furthers my belief that the notion of "It Takes a Village" to raise our children does us absolutely no fkn good when the village is a bunch of village idiots.
(Webster's. Invest in one!)

So while I have not yet found my wee dog, I have found a daily (and endless) source of entertainment for myself!

Which brings me to the Happy Ending.
(People say: Finally!)

Last night, after cruising through the Humane Societies & Petfinder, I began to troll Craig's List, saving the best (entertainment) for last. While logged into the Salem Pets, and in between a contentious dialogue on Pit Bulls as a breed, I spy this: FOUND: medium sized dog- Scio area. It went on to give a description of the dog and that it had only a collar, please call to identify collar.

That's sad. No tag or chip........ what are the odds this doggie is gonna get back to his or her owner? And Scio is in Linn County; and Salem is Marion County and so why post in Salem? That post should be in the Corvallis/Albany section.......Hmmmmmmm. Finding nothing that fit my wee dog requirements, I clicked over to the Corvallis/Albany section and there it was at the top: DOG LOST from Scio. This post gave an eerily similar description of the dog and identified the collar (blue with bubbles) and said her name was Maggie. Her people were desperate to find her, please call.

My Momma Bear instincts, coupled with my love for playing Dick Tracy, kicked into high gear and I fired off an email to both the Finders & the Losties, copying and pasting each of their posts into my email with the message: Perhaps you folks are talking about the same dog? Hope this is a happy pet reunion.

Within 10 minutes the Finder emailed me back and said the dog she'd found was indeed wearing a blue collar with bubbles and when she said "Maggie" the dog went crazy; she was calling the Losties "right now" and she thanked me for putting two and two together. I emailed her back and said I hoped it all worked out.

I looked down at Benelli, who was asleep at my feet, and thought about how even though there are days when I feel like she's more work than she's worth, her love and loyalty to this family is priceless. If something ever happened to her, my children would be devastated. And so would I. She's our constant companion, our giver of unwavering love (even when we all yell "BAD DOG!" upon discovering she's inhaled yet another loaf of bread!). I went to bed with the hope that Maggie would be reunited with her family.

This morning at 10 a.m., the Finder emailed me: "I just wanted to let you know that the post you sent me was from Maggie's owners. She will be reunited with them this afternoon. Thank you for making the effort for Maggie."

Yeah. The Snarky Brunette cried.
(Step off, Haters...... I really do have a heart!)

And then I got to thinking: Good doggie Karma..... I put it out there.....and it will eventually come full circle, and back to me........

Wee dog style!