When I Meet Sasha

I never intended on getting a dog. It was just a normal May afternoon. I was out running errands and had to stop by a friends. I knew she had been breeding Yorkies for a while, so it wasn't a surprise when she escorted me into a dark, damp, room where a large kennel housed several tiny little pups.

Pick one up, with a wide grin, she gestured toward the kennel. Just for fun I did. I grabbed a medium sized pup and played with her for a few moments. I put her down and made my rounds, picking up every little body that filled the kennel. But! something had happened. The first pup and I had bonded in the few minutes we played together.

Barely able to walk, she moved toward me. Her partially opened eyes looked at me, she was the quintessential puppy dog. Ranita, breeder extraordinaire suggested that I take her home. See how it works out, she said. I'll let you know about cost if you decide to keep her. I bundled the guinea pig sized puppy in a small blanket and headed home. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.

With no real dog supplies I had to compromise. I put a soft, warm blanket into a cardboard box. I added items I had picked up before making it home. I placed her newly acquired bowl, filled with food and water and toys into her cozy little box.

I was so excited I could hardly sleep. It was like having a new born. Every few hours I'd wake up to make sure she was alright. It was almost dawn, I knew I had to get some rest, after all I had to go to work. This would be the last check-in for the night.

I trotted over to the box and looked in, OMG where is she I screamed. Where's the dog? I couldn't find her, she was gone. She couldn't have accessed the stairs; they were way to high for such little legs. She wasn't under the bed, not in the bathroom, not in the closet, where was she? I ran down the hall, perhaps one of the kids had her. One by one I checked their rooms. She wasn't with any of them.

Now, back in my room I started to panic. I began throwing things about the room. I was experiencing every emotion, fear, angry, sadness. I couldn't concentrate. I was all over the place. I started to believe something super natural had taken place. Clean to her, I thought. The room was a little messy, and the way I handled losing stuff in a messy room is to clean to it.

I hoped that this would work. I hoped that she hadn't been abducted by aliens. I started to shuffle things, moving things from here to there. I picked up video games, games cases, note books, crayons, I thought what the heck is all this doing in my room!

I bend down to pick up an old pair of sweat pants, and there she was. With a thump, she fell onto the floor. She'd fallen out of the pants leg. The relief I felt in that moment solidified our relationship. I knew she would be my eternal companion. I scooped her tiny little body from off of the floor and laid her on the pillow next to me. I knew from that moment; she was my fur baby. I paid the friend price of two hundred dollars for her, and she has been sleeping in the same spot on the bed for the past eleven years.