Grey-ing the Day Away

This is Greyson. He is the youngest in our family and he was a surprise! As you can see from his picture he has a lot of personality! He is hyper and energetic…… and loves to give kisses! He has warmed his way into our hearts at a most difficult time.

You see, 3 years ago, we lost our beloved Rocko. He was my first miniature dachshund. He was black and tan and full of spunk. He lived a good life and he was almost 16 years old when he was called to doggie heaven.

We still have three furry family members, our dog Jack (going on 16yrs) and our cats Jonesy and Lola (5 and 3 yrs).

So fast forward…….

We did not plan on getting anymore animals. One reason being that Jack is geriatric and needs a lot of care. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain, but his arthritis is getting really bad. Bringing another fur baby into the house just wouldn’t be fair to him. The other reason, well, my husband has stage 4 colon cancer. He was diagnosed August 20th, 2018.

So, other than what I just mentioned above, it was a normal day, October 23, 2018. I had gone to the grocery store after work to pick up a few things, when I get a text from my husband, “Where are you?” I’m at the store, I replied. So, I finished getting the last few items in my shopping. A few minutes later, my husband is now calling me. I answered the phone with urgency, worried. You see, during this time, my husband was not doing well. He was in the thick of chemotherapy, both IV and pills. The chemo took every bit of energy out of him. So, first the text and now the phone call. I answer, “What’s wrong?!!” His reply which had me scared, was, “I need you to come home now.” I hurried to the checkout line, thinking, ok, this lady is almost done, so I should be able to checkout quickly. My mind is racing as I put all my things on the belt. And then I see the elderly lady pull out her checkbook. Everything is now moving in slow motion because I am in a hurry. I almost said screw it and left everything on the belt, but I didn’t. I rushed home, grabbed all my bags in one swoop and rushed into the house, frantic…. “What’s Wrong??!!”

I round the corner and there are these strangers in my house. A young lady probably in her late twenties and very pretty and an even younger lady, at least the age of 18 years. They are standing in the kitchen with my husband, who is leaning back against the counter. I had no idea what was going on! The older young lady turns around and she has this 8-week old pup in her arms wrapped in a grey towel. With a perplexed look on my face, my husband yells, SURPRISE!!, your mom bought “you” (emphasized) a dog! I am still confused and he says again…. “Your Mom bought YOU a dog!” The young lady proceeds to tell us how my mom contacted her through Facebook and how she felt it was time. The young lady then said to me, I understand what you are going through as your husband told us while we were waiting for you. I totally understand if you want to not accept him or if you want to keep him for seven days before you make your decision. I will give your mom a full refund if you decide that that you just can’t handle it. I am now crying and I look at her, chuckle and say, “if you leave him, you won’t get him back, let me just say that now.” I then look at my husband and say this is a joint decision. Shaking his head, he said, nope, your name is on the paperwork, not mine. This is your dog. Well, as you can see, you know what decision I made.

That night, I sent my mom a text with a picture of Greyson letting her know how mad I am at her, Thank you and we will talk about this in the morning since it was late in the evening.

So, now we have this energetic puppy that is like having a baby, a geriatric dog who needs extra care, and my husband who has cancer and needs extra care himself.

It wasn’t till weeks maybe a few months when I was looking at Grayson’s paperwork that I noticed he was born on August 20, 2018. Does that date sound familiar? Coincidence? I believe that things happen for a reason and he was brought into our life with a purpose and he reminds us everyday with the love he gives.