Where to begin...
Have you ever felt a love for a pet so deep that there are no words? That's me and Chachi. He's not just a dog, he's my baby, my son. I found him in November of 2009. Well, actually he found me.
The story goes, one Sunday morning my cousin, Earnest, heard loud, sharp barking in his front yard. He ignored it at first but Chachi was persistent. After a while, Earnest went to the door to see what was going on. He said, " Man, as soon as I opened the door this little, white ball of cotton ran passed me and jumped on to the couch! Can you believe that! He just made himself at home!" My cousin and his wife weren't prepared to take in a pet so, they put him in the garage and fed him some chicken. Then, they called me. I had just lost my 15 year old black lab, Zhoi, to old age and was still mourning him. I agreed to see the puppy but asked Earnest if he could hang on to him til the next day when I had more time. He agreed and I went on with my day.
Unfortunately, when I called to set up a time to see him the next day, Earnest told me he had already been given away to a friend in a neighboring town. So, I figured it was just as well and that was that. A week later, his friend's wife, Nancy, whom I happened to know, called me and asked if I was still interested in taking the puppy because her Chihuahua, Harley, was not happy about the new guy in the house. I reluctantly agreed to see the puppy. But somehow, I felt this was a sign that I should look into it.
As I drove to her home, I gave myself a pep talk about how I was gonna remain level- headed and detached. I was enjoying my break from the bills that I was paying to keep my last pet going and didn't know if I was ready to take on another life-long commitment. As I traveled down the interstate that evening, I weighed the pro's and con's.
When I arrived at Nancy's, I took a deep breath as she led me to her back patio door. I already knew that my whole world was about to change. As she said, "There he is!", I saw a little, white, bushy Angel staring at me from the other side of the glass. He eagerly waved his little curled piglet tail awaiting to meet me! He was so cute! My first thought was, " Oh my God, he's mine! All mine!"
Nancy and I went out to the patio and he just came straight to me, I sat down on the deck to pet him. I was so in love, There are no words. I asked him if he'd like to come home with me. He came and sat between my legs, looked up at me with those big brown eyes, wiggled his little black nose and waved his tail. I took that as a yes. To seal the deal, he reached up and gave me a lick on the cheek.
I couldn't take him home that night cause I had to go out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Nancy and her family were nice enough to keep him until I returned and was prepared to receive him properly.
On the day after Thanksgiving i showed up ready to take my baby home. My cat, Chaz, was not pleased to see a strange dog in the car as I pulled up. I let him out so Chachi could have some time to get used to his new home. Shortly after, Chaz came scratching at the door. But, Chachi didn't give me a chance to pick him up first. The first thing Chaz sees is a wiggly ball of fluff barking at him. He was startled and swatted poor lil Chachi in the nose! Not the best intro for the two of them, but all is well and we are family. Chachi is a joy to be around! Everyone adores him and wants to keep him! I don't know what I did to deserve such a happy, friendly, sweet, cute, silly, funny, goofy, trusting, smart, well-behaved, easily trained great dog but, he's mine and I cherish him!
It was meant to be that he didn't fit in with the other family. He was meant to be with me! And no coincidence that he ran into my cousin's house. Later on I spoke to a few neighbors that said he'd been around the block staying with some of them but they could never hang onto him. He kept escaping. I believe he was just waiting to meet me. And, the rest is history.
I hope you enjoyed my story. Stay tuned for tales on how Chachi has changed my life and our adventures as professional pet-sitters!