Tell Me a Story – $1 Dog

Tell Me a Story Challenge :

Choose a person (or in this case a family pet).  Then do any or all of the following:

• Make a list of the top ten stories about this person, a word or phrase will do.
• Choose one story and tell a compelling, short version that will interest your family members in one minute or less.
• Tell a more detailed version of that story including photos if you have them.

Note:  You can read about my inspiration behind this challenge here.  I’ve decided to reverse the order in my post.  If you are reading this, you like stories so I’ll start with the full story, then the bite-sized story to hook my family members, then the list of ten stories.

In March of 2011 we decided we wanted to get a dog.  We’d been thinking about it for a while and putting it off.  Really, it was me that was on the fence about it.  Then one day my sister told me all about their new dog Goldie and how much her kids loved Goldie.  Her sweet anecdotes pushed me over the edge and I started looking for a dog that very day.

My oldest and I scoured the local ads, researched best breeds for families and allergies and decided we wanted a miniature dachshund.  There were two miniature dachshunds listed, one was a very young puppy and one was a mature dog listed for $1.

$1?  I knew there must be a story.  I called and asked some questions.  It turned out that the family listed their dog for very sad reasons.  The mother of the family was pregnant with baby number seven and she had just been diagnosed with leukemia.  She wasn’t far enough along to deliver and they couldn’t treat the leukemia while she was pregnant.  To give her the best shot they had to move into a brand new home and get rid of all their pets.  She needed a sterile environment.  They didn’t want to sell their dog but in order to list the dog there had to be a dollar amount, so they went with $1.

My heart broke for them and what they were going through.  I knew this was a dog that had been well loved and was good with kids.  I was sold.  I called my husband and asked him to go get the dog.  He called to make arrangements and was told that a different family was coming from an hour away to see the dog and they had called first.  My husband called me back and told me he didn’t get the dog.  We were so sad!  I told him he had to get the dog somehow.  He very nicely pointed out that he didn’t think that was possible.

When he got home from work that day our two oldest boys and I were sitting on the living room floor looking online for other miniature dachshunds and feeling sad that we had missed out on “our” dog.  We heard the garage door open and then when he came in we heard little toenails clicking on the hardwood floor.  He had worked some magic and brought home that $1 dog!

Noodle was nearly seven years old the day she joined our family.  We loved her instantly and never regretted our decision for a second.  She was great with our children – so patient and affectionate.  We had five wonderful years with her and I am so very glad that I made an uncharacteristically impulsive decision that day to get a dog.  Our life was so much richer because of Noodle.

One Minute Story

Our dog Noodle was almost seven when we got her.  She was listed in the local ads for $1.

Top Ten Stories for Noodle:

• Bringing Baby H home from the hospital
• String Cheese
• Never asking to go out while I was pregnant & recovering from sinus surgery
• First to greet you at the door
• Fierce defender
• $1 dog
• “Go to bed Noodle”
• Saying please on her hind legs
• Burrowing in her blankets
• “You should get a dog, then you never have to clean up your spills”