Family

I’ve heard my moms debate the merits of adding another dog to our family. Gretchen is all for it; Momma Ann thinks with all the pet sitting and dog walking, we have enough dogs in our lives. As for me, well, I wouldn’t mind a younger sibling to push around, but despite our debating, we’ve never actually made a move to add an extra dog.

But sometimes, when you put things out there in the Universe, the Universe is listening even though you may have thought otherwise.

Two weeks ago, Dezi was left on our front porch. He is a neighbor friend and he and his Dad are mainstays of the neighborhood — always out walking in the mornings and late afternoons. But Dezi’s Dad took very ill and passed away today. This makes us very very sad because he was a good and kind and gentle human being.

We agreed to take care of Dezi until his Dad was better, but no one could foresee that this is where we’d be two weeks ago and while we are more than willing to be Dezi’s new adoptive family, we are very sad that it’s under these circumstances.

But life, I’ve learned this year, isn’t easy and tough and horrible things come to pass. And there’s not much you can do about it.

You just have to keep breathing.

Still, that debate we’ve had for so long is no longer a debate. We now have a new dog in our lives and I must say, while I was originally skeptical about the whole situation, Dezi is the perfect dog to add to our family. He is gentle and sensitive — never trying to steal my food or my place on the couch. He makes me laugh with his silly, whiskery face and with the clothes my moms make him wear (he tends to get cold). He is quiet (unlike me) and loves to go on long walks (like me).

When his Dad asked us to take care of him, we were honored because his Dad loved Dezi more than anything else. Dezi feels the same, of course, so we’re doing our best to help him both mourn and make the transition. Sometimes it’s not easy.

But my dog friends have helped as much as my moms.

Take for example the walk we had to with Rosie. Rosie doesn’t get to walk with too many other dogs because she can be very excitable and that sometimes turns into aggression. But after her initial worry about Dezi, she settled right into walking with him. He, of course, paid her little to no attention (which helped) and by the end of the walk, we were all calm and relaxed with each other (sorry, no photos though because Gretchen had her hands full).

Dezi likes walking with Maizy and Zizou who nibble at his whiskers and look up to him like he was their own older brother. This makes me happy because frankly they are always nipping at me and I’m not nearly as patient as Dezi.

Monty has known Dezi about as long as I have and so Dezi moving in with us is no big deal to Monty. He thinks we’re all just one big happy family anyway.

Tyson knows Dezi too (since we all live in the same neighborhood) and Tyson’s stump of a tail wiggles just as fast as Dezi’s long one when they see each other.

Dezi’s even met Sonny. Of course, Sonny’s way of greeting new dogs is a bit odd — he charges them and then tries to mouth them (though Gretchen doesn’t let that happen), but then settles into the walk like they were long-lost friends.

Roux thinks we got a smaller version of her, at least that’s how she acted when she first met him. “Hey,” she said, “He looks kinda like me!” and he does though his whiskers are bit longer and his body a great deal smaller.

We aren’t sure exactly Dezi’s mix though we think it might be whippet and schnauzer. There’s possibly some terrier in their too, but it’s hard to tell.

Perhaps the dog who likes Dezi the most is Chief. I’m not sure why especially after Dezi barked at Chief the first time they met, but regardless, Chief gets really excited when Dezi comes to the door. Maybe it’s an old guy thing.

He still needs to meet some of my other friends…like Joey and Theo and Finn and Carter and Kali…but I’m sure he’ll be welcomed with open paws again. He’s that kind of dog — you just want to squeeze him.

But aside from all of that, having Dezi around and in our lives now has made me think a lot about what “family” means. I won’t get too philosophical here, but I have to say that actually having a real brother is a whole lot better than always talking about having one. It’s nice to know that I have his back and he has mine. It’s nice to know that there’s someone I can talk to, someone who really listens. Sure my moms do that, but Dezi gets me in a way they don’t. Perhaps that’s because he’s a dog or maybe it’s because he’s a boy dog, but whatever the reason, his quiet demeanor brings me peace.

And I never thought I’d like having an older brother. I can be pretty bossy so yes, I was hoping for someone younger and more frisky. My moms were hoping for a girl because they thought that would soften me up a bit, but now that Dezi is here and in the fold of our love, I’m glad he was the one who ended the debate. He is exactly where he should be and I’m glad I’m right here with him.

Sending love and light to Dezi’s Dad’s family. He will be missed by so many.

Keep breathing…