Priceless

Many years ago, my husband and I had a little puppy named Chloe.  She was a Siberian Husky.  And she was a runner.  Sadly, one night during a storm, part of our fence blew down and Chloe ran.  And she was hit by a car.

We knew Chloe needed a buddy, to keep from being lonely in the yard when we were away from the house.  We had planned to get her a companion, but were waiting until my summer vacation.  But that storm came along in the spring, and we never got the chance to get a buddy for Chloe.

The night that Chloe died, we cried all night.  But the very next morning, I grabbed the Dallas Morning News classifieds and found an ad that said "Siberian Husky pups for sale!"  We went and looked at a litter of 9 and picked out the two meant for us- Zoe and Scout.

They weren't ever lonely, like Chloe had been.  And they both lived long and very happy lives.

Now that I'm beginning to think about getting puppies again 15 years later, it seems things have gotten more complicated.

From lots of reading, and visiting a nearby dog park, and asking around, we're pretty sure we know what breed of puppies we want. (Australian Shepherds, in case you're wondering.)

But these days, the newspaper doesn't run nearly as many ads.  Now there's Craigslist, and eBay, and an internet full of breeders.  Many of the breeders ask for deposits before a litter is even born!  Or even conceived!  That seems crazy.

Zoe and Scout didn't have "papers".  And we didn't get them from a professional breeder.  Just a sweet family that happened to breed their husky so they could experience what it was like to have a litter of  puppies.  I think we paid a couple hundred bucks for each of them.  Now that I've read so much on the internet, the warnings of buying a dog from someone other than a reputable breeder are just scary.  "You get what you pay for",  I've read over and over.  Reading that stuff can make you believe that you'll end up with a sickly, troubled mess if you don't pay top dollar to a top breeder.

Sometimes, I start to buy into it.  But then, I remember where Zoe and Scout came from.  And how healthy, happy and sweet they were.  As the Visa commerial says...

PRICELESS!

Zoe and Scout

Yesterday, our sweet dogs of 15 years, Zoe and Scout went out of this world the same way they came into it--- together.  I use to wonder about which one of them we would lose first.  I worried about it, because they had been together their entire lives and I just didn't know how one could handle losing the company of the other.  As it turns out, it was a worry I need not have wasted my time on.

The hardest part of all of this is now behind us.  But still, my heart aches in missing them.
 
I obviously don't know what happens after a dog dies.  But I know if there is a heaven, they're in it.  And if there's any chance of reincarnation, I hope they'll make their way back into our lives as soon as possible. 

But until we meet again, we've got loads of great memories that I'll replay in my mind for the rest of my life.

Thank you, to our beloved sweet companions of the last 15 years, Zoe and Scout.  We miss you.

i knew that winter was coming and you couldn't take the cold
someday got here too quickly, i wish i'd bought it before it sold

   (chorus)  i wish you didn't have to go
i wish the hands of time would slow
i wish that we could do it all again
and we would never, not ever
get to the end

i know the way this will go
i have played it out in my mind
and i've worked thru all of the endings
and my heart it breaks everytime

-chorus-

oh where did the time go?
and where will all this love go?
cuz every minute of every day love was in it in every way...

-chorus-