I know this sounds weird, but it would have been better if I had come home from my spa weekend and discovered my husband in bed with another woman rather than with a two-month-old Labrador retriever curled between his legs.
The woman would have been gone within seconds.
As for that puppy? She was here to stay.
My daughter thought a puppy was the best thing for her father.
“Don’t you just love Ziva?” my daughter asked several days later, as I sprayed yet another carpet deodorizer promising to bring “pine freshness” onto our living room carpet. “Isn’t she adorable and fun?”
I didn’t find anything adorable about her chewing up every paper product in our house: coasters, napkins, books. Or anything fun about moving items with the slightest hint of wood pulp to a higher altitude.
“But you have to admit, Mom, a puppy is the best thing for Dad.”
On that I had to agree with my daughter.
A Dark Year
The previous year had been tough for my husband. After being diagnosed with a rare brain tumor (ironically, more prevalent in dogs), he survived an eight-hour surgery and then received his certificate from a seven-week radiation treatment.
During that period, his best friend and business partner of three decades discovered he had liver cancer. He wasn’t so lucky.
After his friend died, his whole world changed.
After his friend’s passing, my husband spent hours watching TV. He lost his passion for cooking. He quit playing his guitar. He hadn’t seen a sunrise or sunset in almost a year.
Once Ziva entered his life, everything changed.
During those first weeks, he got up every few hours to let her outside. I’d often find him in the morning stretched on a lounge chair with Ziva cuddled on his chest. The sun rising over the back fence signaled play time.
Only the Finest Dog
How could you not love that face? This Lab isn’t Ziva, but we’re sure she was just as cute. Image:
Garrett Karoski/Unsplash
He began taking her for walks. He took her to the pet store to pick out her collar and leash. He spared no expense on the finest puppy food. He took her to obedience school where he learned to obey her commands.
The TV went unwatched. Our kitchen became filled with savory aromas. In the evenings, we watched Ziva run circles through the backyard.
How could I not love this precious girl who had brought my husband back to me?
As the months progressed, Ziva grew from 20 to 50 pounds, and her culinary tastes expanded to include plastics such as gift cards, inhalers, and pens. For dessert she loved stuffing—and I don’t mean the kind found inside a turkey.
There went our patio chairs, our swing cushions, and her heart-shaped bed.
And little by little, there went my heart. How could I not love this precious puppy who had brought my husband back to me?
These days, if you should enter our home in the evening, you’ll find all three of us in bed together. Snuggling, loving, and taking care of each other.
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