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Sometimes the right thing happens at the right time. A scenario so perfect that one knows the only orchestration could have come from above.
It's a situation that has completely changed my view on something I dug my heels in on.
We now have a dog.
This busy dad thought that a dog wouldn't be a good match for our family style, despite posturing from my wife and kids. We were too busy, going in too many directions, liked sleep too much to add another family member. Maybe when the girls moved out, we'd revisit, knowing Betsy would love another living thing to take care of.
I thought the Speer family was set.
But the Fab Four has now become the Fab Five.
Here's how it went down.
On a bike ride a couple of summers ago, our family's Chief Lobbyist, youngest daughter Juliet, attempted to sell me on a canine companion. She used ethos, logos and pathos to try and budge this unmovable object. In a moment of weakness, I relented.
I told her we'd get a dog sometime before Isabelle left for college. Nothing could replace our oldest daughter, but I reluctantly saw how having a "buddy" in the house could help weather what would be a big change.
This was before Isabelle's sophomore year, so I made some stipulations: First, if we ever got a dog, Juliet would play a prominent role in taking care of it; Second, we wouldn't let the dog get in the way of our various travels and commitments; And, third, we would wait for the right opportunity.
In the time that passed, Betsy would occasionally show me dogs she found online. But it never was the right time...
Maybe we were destined to be dogless.
Then came the text.
One of our best friends reached out to Betsy on a lark, relaying a message from a former coworker. This friend had a picture of a Yorkshire terrier and asked if anyone was interested in adopting.
The dog was cute, and Betsy was intrigued. She replied, "I am interested."
Thus started the motion of bringing Sammy home.
Sammy was a well-loved dog by his family but a change in situation left them looking for a new home. When Betsy called about him, she could hardly believe it. They were looking for a home with a fenced in backyard. Check. One with no dogs currently living in it. Also check. And a home with two daughters, because the dog's previous owner had two granddaughters. Check again.
All this lining up caused reality to set in. Sammy would be our newest family member.
We met the family at their home, walked Sammy and talked about his personality, food and toys. We all fell in love immediately. Just like that, we loaded a crate and other items in the car and began the drive home, with Sammy sitting in the lap of one of his new best friends, Juliet.
In summary, Sammy has fit into our family like a glove. We love to walk, and he loves joining Betsy and I on our nightly strolls. Everyone in our neighborhood wants to meet him, and we have no shortage of friends and family who line up to watch him when we are on the run. He is a good dog, albeit a little jumpy around other canines. He is capable of dividing his love between the four of us.
I'll admit it, I was wrong.
My girls couldn't be happier, and you know what, neither could I.
I didn't think we were a dog family. And maybe we aren't.
But we are definitely our dog's family.
Jeremy Speer is the publisher of The Courier, Findlay, the Sandusky Register, The Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin, the Norwalk Reflector and Review Times, Fostoria. He can be reached at jeremyspeer@thecourier.com.