Ever since Chip died, our family hasn’t
been the same. Christmas Eve of 2010, we had to put our 11 year old miniature
Collie down. It’s safe to say that it wasn’t a very merry day for the Wrong
family. Although Chip, with his soft brown fur and wiggly tale, will never be
forgotten, it was time to move on. I yearned for the companionship and loyalty
that Chip never failed to provide, so I begged and pleaded and begged some more
for a new dog.
“They are too much work and too much
money,” was the only response I ever got. It didn’t matter how many times I
said I would take complete care of it – feed it, walk it, bathe it, clean up
after it, everything! – but it was never enough.
Being the youngest and the only girl
in a family of four boys, I am Daddy’s Little Girl…and you could say I knew how
to work that angle.
It was the week of Midterms, Junior
year, and every time I saw my dad I would bring up how great having a dog would
be. At first he said, “Come on, Sweetie. You know how your mom feels,” but I
could tell he was going to eventually crack…he always does.
Because he gets out of work earlier
than my mom, he is always the one to pick me up from school. So, every day
after exams were over, we would drive past the local Humane Society on our way
home.
“Dad, just think: we could save a
puppy’s life by adopting it!” He would just smile and shake his head as he
drove past the adoption center each day.
On the very last day of exams, I
knew it was now or never. I put on my sweetest voice and said, “Daddy, I’ve
worked so hard and now that exams are over it would be a perfect time to get a
dog.”
“Sweetie–” he started.
“Daddy, please! I miss Chip so
much!” I conjured up some teams, and that’s all it took. Before I knew it we
were in the Humane Society facing a cage of 7 eager, attentive puppies all
looking for a new home. We decided to choose Reggie – the runt. He was small,
but he was perfect. I loved him instantly.
With Reggie in my lap and adoption
papers in my hand, we were headed home with the newest member of the Wrong
family. But then, the phone buzzed. My dad and I just glanced at one another
because we knew exactly who it was.
Cautiously, he answered saying, “Hi
honey…why are we so late?” He looked from Reggie to me to back to Reggie and
said, “Well, uh, we, uh, we got a dog.” He waited a few seconds and then set
the phone down.
“What did mom say?” I demanded.
“‘You had better be kidding’ and
then she hung up,” he mumbled.
We sat in silence for the rest of
the ride home. When we walked in the door with Reggie trotting behind us, my
mom was waiting in the kitchen to see if what my dad had said was true.
“Really?” she asked. “You decide to
get a dog and you choose the ugliest one?” Poor little Reggie just sat there
unknowingly, wagging his sweet little tale.
A few nights had passed, and my mom
still wasn’t talking to my dad or me, so I decided to take Reggie on a walk,
but he was nowhere to be found. I looked in the backyard and all over the house
until I heard some giggling coming from my mom’s room. I cracked open her door
and peered in to find Reggie and my mom rolling around on her bed! I took a
step into the room, but they were too consumed with one another to even notice
my presence! Although a little bit jealous from all the Reggie-kisses my mom
was getting, I was really glad that she finally accepted him. To this day, he
still sleeps at her feet.
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