This has been a tough summer for dogs in my house. Ryan's dog Macks left on Monday. Returned to Alabama, back home with her ""Daddy" Ryan. Our sweet 10 year old Jack Russell Lucky, of course, passed away in June. This left our little cockapoo Lucy- she has been so lonely. She has moped around and has been very clingy. I have prayed about how I could afford to get another dog for her. I did not know how I would be able to justify the expense of another animal, but I knew Lucy needed a partner. I did not know how, but God did.
I went to Hannah's ballgame tonight in Burton. Before the game started, I got into the stands and thought, "I wonder if there are any cockapoo puppies on Craigslist??" My cell signal was horrible there, but I was able to pull up the page. There were only 7 cockapoos listed. 4 of them were acutally people looking for cockapoos, 3 were puppies looking for a home. The first one was a new entry- a cute dog, but too far away. The second dog was from earlier in the week, so I wondered if it would even be available. When I opened the ad, there was a picture. It looked EXACTLY like LUCY!! I read the ad, seemed legitimate, so I emailed the lady. I told her why I was looking for a new one and asked if hers was still available. Within 10 minutes, I got a call from an unknown number. I answered and it was the owner. We talked for a while about her dog and why she was having to let him go. Bad news was that she had already probably found a home for him. She said that she was supposed to go meet an prospective buyer and her daughter in an hour. The lady's daugther was "wishy-washy" about what type of dog she wanted and if she even wanted one at all. If it didn't work out, she promised that she would call me.
I decided that I wanted this dog. Crazy thought, since I knew almost nothing about him, but I still felt that was. I decided to make her want to sell me her dog. I was not even sure how much he cost, but I felt drawn to him. I had her cell number, so I texted her a picture of my Lucy. "Here is our Lucy- hope to get to meet your little boy someday soon!" Apparently, that did it! She began to text me back, sending an updated pic of her dog. She said his name was Cooper and he was 7 months old. He is potty trained, he sleeps in their bed, etc...``` Within an hour, she texted back "We can meet you tomorrow in Hempstead if you would like to. Wait! This is moving very fast! What about the other buyer? Well, ok- if we are meeting, tonight actually works out better...they agreed! We evenually agreed to meet in Hempstead later that night.
All the way there, we talked about this new dog. Hannah was very skeptical. She has never liked Lucy and has not lied about that. She didn't want me to get her and has resented her ever since. When Molly died (Lucy's half sister, we had her first and she was run over by a car), Hannah took it very hard. I had hopes that the next dog would be 'hers'. It is a wonderful thing, to love an animal. Not everyone can do this. Not everyone wants to.
We waited for the family to arrive at the arranged location. They were a little late. Kyle joked that they weren't coming at all, that they were actually at our house robbing us. Eventually they arrived , though and we all got out of the cars. The mom's name was Sherry. She was in the front seat with Cooper. He looked so much like Lucy it was amazing! Exact same coloring, almost identical in size, just like siblings! She got out of the truck and Cooper came right to me. He laid on the ground as I began to rub his belly. He loved that, just like Lucy does! He was so friendly. He was excited to see us, as though he knew who we were. We talked with the owners, Sherry and Patrick for almost half an hour. They were unable to keep him because they both work so much. Their daughter just left for college, and no one was at home with Cooper at all during the day or most of the evenings. They knew that this social little puppy needed friends- exactly Lucy's problem! It seemed like such a God thing that I would find her ad and we would meet within a couple of hours of that! When Patrick was talking to us about Cooper, he got all misty eyed and had to excuse himself to the back of the truck for a few minutes. They loved this dog, and were sad to leave it with us. I had wondered how much they wanted for this sweet dog. Most Craigslist folks ask for a 'rehoming' fee, so I expected one. Her ad even said the dog was 'for sale', but no price was listed. Near the end of our time together, I said "Well, I couldn't figure out from the ad how much you were asking for Cooper?" Patrick said "Just that he goes to a good home". I almost cried! I told Sherry that I had been praying about how I could get Lucy a partner without breaking our budget. I explained FPU and how we were trying to become debt free. I told her that they were an answer to prayer. They seemed happy to be used by God this way. I asked "What about the lady you were supposed to have met with Cooper earlier tonight?" She told me that when her husband got home and she explained the situation, he immediately said, "No, we will go meet the family with Lucy. Cooper needs a friend." God interveined for us and kept her from meeting the other lady. This seemed ordained! Having nothing left to discuss, we said our good byes and left.
Cooper rode home with us. He was delightful. He sat in Hannah's lap most of the way. We got home and he met Lucy. Grandma had just gotten home from a trip, so Cooper was a surprise to her too. They were playful, and figured out that they liked each other- a lot!! They played in the house for almost an hour before Hannah went to bed. Cooper went with her. I put him in her bed and he snuggled right up to her. He laid his head down and went right to sleep. So sweet!!
God totally knew how He was going to work this all out. I feel so honored that He loves me enough to know that I needed Cooper- that WE needed Cooper. Welcome to the family Cooper- we love you already!!
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