A Rainy Day Indeed

I am a dog lover.

Josh and I have had 3 dogs together since we have been married. Jasmine, the rottweiler, whom he had before we ever met, so she came with the man when I married the man. Jake, the black/tan dachshund that we got from a breeder just months after we got married. Josh didn't want that little dog. In fact I had to win a game of rummy to get my way. And I slaughtered Josh in that game of rummy. And then after a couple years, we decided to get another dachshund (a red one) just for the fun of it and for Jake to have a playmate, since Jasmine was an outside dog and Jake was inside usually. So we found and fell in love with Charlie from a newspaper ad and he had quite a story that I will not detail now.


Our family of 5 was made up of more dogs than humans and that was just how we liked it. So you can imagine the irony and heartbreak that came from finding out that Noah was allergic to dogs. I think we were just blinded to the signs that whole first year of Noah's life, but to be honest, there weren't really any sure indicators until he started crawling around and even then it was just chalked up to skin problems and excema. But alas, other issues led us to an allergist and the test made us wake up to reality...that Noah was allergic to our beloved family members.

And in effort to keep our canine babies, we confined them to spaces that Noah would not be exposed to and that worked well for awhile. To make a long story short though, the hassle of keeping Noah separated from Jake, Charlie, and Jasmine became quite frustrating if not depressing. Why have pets if you can't love them, play with them, enjoy them and vice versa? The whole point is companionship! As time and age would have it, Jasmine was the oldest and we had to put her to sleep last year when she got sick. That was a tearjerker goodbye - more for Josh than me, but I felt it too. This past January I shared in a bible study prayer group that we were needing to find a home for our remaining two dogs, and lo and behold, I was sitting next to a dog lover... a dachshund lover at that, who was destined to bring Charlie home to her girls within the month. What a happy little family for Charlie and his personality fit them well. He is quite happy there, and I did not cry like I thought I would because it was such a happy match.

And that brings me to this week. I think moving to TN put the fire under our ... well you know... to finally take care of this dog business we have put off for over a year. We sent some emails, made some fliers, and put them up at Jake's vet in hopes of finding Jake a suitable home. And just as I asked the Lord, we got a call right away...first thing in the morning at 8:00 today. One of the vet techs at Jake's vet is taking him home to her mother who has been looking for a playmate for her poodle. And while relief rushed over me to know he will be in a dog friendly and loving home, as I got up to wash Jake's bed and dog bowl, the tears just started rolling. I made Josh go away and just let me cry. This canine goodbye will hurt like Jasmine's did, only worse, and it is only fitting that today is a rainy day. The day Jasmine died was a rainy day as well. (Charlie's goodbye was a sunny day, but that matched Charlie's personality, sunny and perky). But my Jakey, he is my furry baby that we have had since we got married, and my days will have a hole in them starting today at lunch. Bittersweet is the word for the day. It is for the best, I know, but just humor me and let me cry for my Jakey's goodbye. It is the end of an era in the Brown household.