The conversation on Wednesday was rich. After a while a woman I've known for a long time - but not well - told us something that touched my heart. Elynor told us that she'd just had to have her 17 year old dog, Mikey, put to sleep and, as you can imagine, she was devastated.
But that's not the part that got to me. This is. She went on to say that 17 years ago she was caring for her husband and her mother, both of whom were terminally ill. She was struggling. Then one day she saw a sweet puppy in a pet store window and instantly fell in love. She went in and inquired about him but was told that the owner was planning to give him to a friend. So she went home empty handed.
But the next day Elynor, whom I would describe as a lovely, quiet woman, called the pet store and told the clerk they should not have put the puppy in the window if they weren't willing to part with him, and that the owner had a choice of all the other dogs to give to his friend...AND that she was coming back to get the puppy.
And she did. She named him Mikey after the popular television commercial at that time. ("Give it to Mikey, he'll eat anything!")
Elynor's friends and family thought she was crazy to buy a pup when she was overwhelmed with caring for her dying husband and mother. But for 17 years of the kinds of ups and downs that we all experience as we get older, Mikey was Elynor's constant companion.
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I wanted to write this the minute I got home last Wednesday but had to first get Elynor's permission.
