I’m pretty sure that he saw me before I saw him. Last year, when I went to return skis at Wilson Backcountry sports shop. I wanted to say hi to my old friend, Cupcake, who was in the shop. Cupcake makes everyone happy and is usually the center of attention. Before I got Cupcake’s to notice me, I saw a small crate with a pair of dark eyes gazing at me. It was a little blonde mixed breed puppy Cupcake had brought him into the store to get socialized. He was one of her foster pups. Cupcake said he had been promised to another Wilson family. Phew, good thing. We were leaving for Massachusetts the next day and I still had a ton of stuff to do. No time to be falling in love with a precious little dark eyed mutt.
Jimmy is a mutt. He was born on the Browning Indian Reservation in Montana at the end of October when the mercury fell way below zero. His first home with his litter mates was a shower stall in a metal dilapidated building, that was once used as metal welder’s shop. That abandoned welder shack is now an animal shelter and that’s where Jimmy and many other puppies are kept warm and fed until they get adopted or fostered.
Lucky little Jimmy was now getting loved by people in a bike / ski shop. He was chewing on a big bone, and wearing a warm plaid fleece vest. His dark eyes, saw everything and his big ears stuck straight up. He was a knock-kneed possible Corgi mix and maybe a blond heeler mix? I immediately asked Cupcake to give me a call if the planned adoption fell through.
“Give me a call if the planned adoption doesn’t work out.” That should be the tagline for my life. My youngest child is adopted. I think I said the same thing to someone 13 years ago, and later we became parents to a beautiful baby girl. That’s a whole another story.
Just in case the Jimmy’s planned adoption fell through, I took a selfie with Jimmy and sent it to my husband for his approval. His response was an immediate 2 thumbs up. No real surprise. Bob is a softy for kids and dogs and our family had been blessed with one adoption of the humankind. We have always had two dogs and were down to one. Scarlet, our 7-year-old golden needed a friend. Our son was going back to boarding school and our teenage daughter was going back to virtual school at home.
Cupcake never said why the other family didn’t take Jimmy. Whatever the reason, this story has a very happy ending for us. Jimmy fell in love with Scarlett, our Golden Retriever. And Katie, my lonely teenager immediately fell in love with him. He walked in the house and went straight to Scar’s bed and snuggled in close to her tummy. The two dogs are attached at the hip, literally. If his not spooning her, Jimmy is half sitting on her, waiting for something to happen. He was well mannered and practically all trained when he came in the door. He’s respectful and kind and loyal.
At a year old he is medium height and grew out of his knock knees. Actually, he runs like a greyhound. Speeding and leaping though the woods and trails in New England, the local folk will say that they saw a fox or a coyote. One guy said that Jimmy looks like a dingo. Like all of our family, Jimmy is more at home in Wyoming than the east coast.
