The other evening I had an experience worthy of an O’ Henry story and my heart is just about bursting with joy.
As many of you know I’ve been in the difficult process of letting go and selling many of the belongings I can no longer fit in my new home.
One of these items is my lab Stanley’s old large crate, what I called his “clubhouse” which he rarely ever used and no longer needs.
As with most things in my house the dog crate comes with a history. It was the crate my first lab Max used when we got him in 1997 when we lived in the city, and the one we brought out here to use with our second son Emerson. When my niece and nephew were young and Emerson was still a puppy all three of them played in the crate clubhouse together. It was waiting for puppy Stanley when he came to live with us in 2009.
Two days ago I was contacted by a woman online interested in buying the crate and she inquired how large it was as she needed it for a big dog. I assured her it fit my 95-pound lab comfortably. She was overjoyed because that was exactly the kind of dog she was going to be using it for.
We then began discussing our love of labs.
She shared that only a few months ago she lost her own labrador retriever to cancer and was understandably bereft. We commiserated how hard it is to lose a beloved family member. Now she had a new little blonde puppy. In fact, she was that very afternoon driving upstate to pick up his cousin as a companion for the little pup so he would never be alone.
When she mentioned that she’d bring the 2 puppies with her when she came to pick up the crate I was thrilled! Not, I was ecstatic! Selling the crate became incidental to the fact of seeing two, cute little lab puppies.
Seeing the little puppies in her car as she pulled into the driveway nearly made my heart leap out of my chest with love. Holding these precious angels, one yellow, one chocolate, kissing them, breathing in their puppyness was sheer joy.
Knowing that Stanley and his brothers’ “clubhouse” was going to continue to be filled with more lab love was just priceless.
Sure I sold the crate but I got so much back in return.