If you’re a dog person, or even an animal person at all, you know. These two are my furry little humans. They’re my best friends, and my nemeses, at the same time. Especially during this house listing/selling process, poor things. They’ve been shoved in the back of my car and dropped off in a neighbor’s backyard more times than I can count lately.
They’ve been the best sports about it.
But every time I leave, when I look back at those eyes, it cracks me up. Because, as unlikely a pair as they are, I swear they both have human eyes, that see right into my soul. They came to us in very different ways, but it’s clear that they’re both our family.
It all started with Sir Walter.
Scott and I had been married less than a year when we decided we needed a puppy. (because, of course.) We scoured the internet, reading all about dog breads. We agreed with certainty that a TriColor Cavalier King Charles puppy would be the perfect fit. We found the perfect breeder, who happened to have one tri-baby left and away we went.
Except the breeder brought two puppies to meet us.
He brought Walter, the pup we said we wanted, PLUS one sweet, cuddly little blenheim baby, the runt of the litter. You know how the rest of that story goes. For seven years we had two darling Cavalier pups, Sir Walter and Sir William. Sadly, our sweet William left a hole in our hearts way too early due to a severe heart condition. Then we were left with a lonely Walter.
Tomorrow our sweet Hartley girl will turn five.
She joined our family by way of an “accidental adoption” during what was meant to be a quick stop to pick up frog food at the local pet supply store (don’t ask). One look at her hiding her sweet face in that kennel, and I was cooked. There was no way I wasn’t going to love her forever. They said she was a beagle mix, who would only get up to 35 pounds. Her current weight (more than double that) is evidence to the contrary.
I’m so glad they didn’t know better.
They brought her by for a home visit and she was just so scared, it was hard to tell if they would ever be friends. Honestly, they’re not besties, but they’re loyal companions. They stick together, always. Young Hartley guards and defends our elderly Sir Walter like he was her own pup and I have no doubt that Hartley’s kindness and youth have kept Walter kicking years past what would have been his time.
They didn’t know it, but they needed each other.
It turns out, it’s the same with people. Sometimes our closest friends, our lifelong companions, come to us in the most unusual ways. They might not look like us, be the same age as us or even have a similar life experience. It might seem like we have nothing in common. It would be easy to dismiss the friendship as just a little too “odd”. But if you lean in, and get closer, what might first appear as odd, could be exactly what you’ve been needing all along.
Be open to unexpected friendships.
Be open to the one you thought was stuck up at first. Be open to the one who looks different from you. Be open to the one who acts different from you.
You don’t know it yet, but you need each other.
The best friend of your life could be waiting just beyond that “odd” feeling.
Go for it.
to more love,
Crystal
