Near the beginning of our relationship we were givin the wonderful little dog you see above. His name is Scoop (lovingly called Scoopy) he belonged to my uncle who desided one day he would like a more manly dog and offered up this little gem to us. If you are looking repeatedly at the picture trying to figure out exactly what that is, he was a Chinese Crested Hairless dog and the kindest, sweetest most lovable dogs you would ever want to meet. My partner was all about this dog, they spent all their time together, at any moment you could catch them curled up somewhere together. About two years ago in the height of my partners illness Scoop also became ill. He was the runt of his litter and his life expectancy was 8-10 years. At this point he was over 10 years old and had become blind, he also developed a bad cold. We did for his cold what we had done for his whole life, vicks on his little chest and vitamin C, only the cold got worse and worse. He was so congested that breathing was hard, he was lathargic etc. The vet advised us to put him down stating he was past his life expectancy and if we did spend the obscene amount of money to cure his current illness, he was already blind and he would surely become sick again. So we sat down and made the most difficult decision we had ever made as a couple, to put down this little guy who was so much a part of our family.It was so painful to have to make that decision that we desided we would not get another dog, for neither of us wanted to go through that again. As time passed we longed more and more for a four legged little friend to meet us at the door. but most importantly for my partner to have some company while I was away at work. It had been difficult for her 8 or more hours a day alone in our home with her toughts and bipolar disorder distorting those thoughts into often painful ideas. She needed something that could distract her thoughts, something that would force her off the couch and out into the world. So one day I suggested we go to the Humaine Society and see if there is a dog there for us. With excitement and apprehension in her eyes we hopped in the car and took the trip to the Humaine Society where she fell in love with this little white dog sporting a bandana around his neck. We enquired about this dog and were told that we would have to wait until the following monday because he was a stray and they allow a certain amount of time for the rightful owners to claim the dog. My partner was devistated, she didnt want to look at anymore dogs she just wanted that one. So we handed in our application and went home. She was convinced that they just didnt want to give us the dog and it would be gone by Monday, she was so upset. So the next day Sunday I desided I would return to the Humaine Society first to see if my partners little dog was still there. I was determined not to leave that place without a new pet for my partner. I would not come home empty handed. Upon arrival I discovered my partner was right. They had adopted the dog she wanted to someone else the day before. Now I was on a mission. I must have walked around that place 100 times. If I had to go to 30 different shelters I would not be going home empty handed! I was looking hard trying to avoid the agressive dogs, the yappy dogs, the sick dogs etc. As I was making my final pass i came across this beautiful pup. He didnt yet have any papers or name he was just Male LabX. I fell in love he looked so happy, he was licking me through the bars of his pen tail wagging like crazy. So I jumped up and went (this time to find the guy who runs the place) anyone other than the guy who had not helped us the day before. I found Will (guy in charge) I dragged him over to the cage of the puppy I so desperately wanted to take home. He explained to me that puppies had to have a certain amount of adoption requests and the pup I wanted was not up for adoption yet as he had not been given any paperwork yet. Like a switch I turned on the charm. I explained to Will that my partner and I are very active people, we do a lot of hiking and camping and backpacking. We are always outdoors and this little puppy would be the perfect addition to our family. I had prepared our vet information and assured him this would not be our first dog. Will became entranced by our conversation about the outdoors and agreed that we would be a great fit for this dog in front of us. He said to me with a wink that he would need to get a few more adoption requests for this pup during the day, to go home and expect a (wink) phone call from him telling us to come pick up our new puppy in a little bit. I flew home. So excited to tell my partner that I had found the perfect pup. We sat outside on the swing and talked about this handsome little guy. He was all black with a white bib on his chest. My partner was getting excited despite herself. After the previous days disapointment she did not want to get her hopes too high, but I could see in her eyes she was waiting for the phone to ring. And it did!
Meet Marley! He has been a godsend to our home and especially to my partner wether this illness has her curled up on the couch just wanting to end it all or in a hypomanic state this dog is right by her side. He licks her out of bed in the morning and forces her off the couch if she is down they have clocked many miles on the hiking trails together and he has offered her comfort and company in the times I am away from home. He has also given me the security that she is not alone. He is sweet and kind and lovable, if not a little poorly behaved. For my partner having a pet has probably saved her life on more than one occasion and he will forever have my love, respect and gratitude. I love them both more than life itself and it brings me great happiness to see them together.
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