The Reaction to my Unauthorized Purchase

This is Part 2 of the previous posting from back on February 16, 2020. It’s about Gracie, our new puppy, coming into our lives.

Mary was in Massachusetts at a client site where they were facing a 6:00 p.m. deadline and I didn’t want to disturb her. That caused a dilemma. If I had left Gracie at the pet shop, she could have been sold before I got back.

If I wanted to put a hold on her so Mary could meet her, it would be a $400 deposit that would not be refunded if we didn’t buy her. Plus, the hold was only good for 24 hours. Mary wasn’t due back until late Wednesday night and the following day was the 4^th of July and the shop would be closed.

What could I do? I purchased Gracie without checking with my wife of 14 years. Her reaction? Well…we had always had this agreement that if either of us were considering making a purchase of higher than $50, we would have a conversation before making the purchase.

Obviously, Grace and her crate, crate pad, brush, toy, harness and dog food were more than $50. Oops!

When I finally reached Mary that night and told her my news, she didn’t take it well.

During the course of that phone conversation, Mary pointed out the following: we had agreed no additional dogs until we moved into a house; we could kiss the apartment deposit goodbye; we are on the third floor which doesn’t make for a quick pee exit; getting dressed in the middle of night and going out frequently in the dark won’t be fun; Fast Eddie, our 13-year-old Puggle was enjoying being an only dog, and if we were to go out of town, finding someone to take care of two dogs would be more of a challenge.

Adding to all this fun was that Mary’s 90-year-old stepmother was coming to visit us for a week. Mary felt having a new puppy in the house would make some challenges with what was supposed to be a nice visit. There were some challenges. I had my hands full, but we successfully got through the week.

After mentioning these during the phone conversation, Mary informed me she needed to go for a walk and would call me back later. I know she subsequently called one of our friends. They spoke for over 40 minutes and she talked Mary off the ledge.

To be honest, when Mary called me back later that night, I don’t remember the conversation at all, which shows how stressed I was regarding my own actions that caused this upheaval.

When Mary arrived home late on Wednesday of course she fell immediately in love with Gracie. Who wouldn’t? She was a 3.5 lbs. ball of fur and cute as a button.

Has Mary forgiven me? Yes, months have gone by. I know though that I lost her trust in me and that will take time to regain. Gracie has brought us so much laughter and joy, we are very blessed that she is in our lives.

Recently, I mentioned that Gracie as she has gotten older has turned into a spitfire and I questioned whether I made the right decision to bring her into our lives. Mary turned to me and said, “If I come home and find that you have given her away, I am divorcing you.”

Until the next time…

The Start of My Love Affair with Gracie

Here is my story about Gracie, a Sheltie puppy, who came into my life in July of 2019. I wasn’t planning on getting a puppy, But I’m getting ahead of myself. There is background you need to know first to enjoy this story.

I did not get my first dog until 2004. Her name was Chloe and I’ve written several stories of her on my blog. Along the way, Fast Eddie and Chancey, came into our lives, our gang of three. Years went by and in 2017 we lost both Chloe and Chancey. I’ve missed Chancey. My grief over Chloe’s passing never stopped.

In the fall of 2017, we made some major decisions about our lives. We put our house of 13 years on the market and started looking for housing and employment in New Hampshire. Things fell into place, we sold the house, found an apartment that welcomed Fast Eddie and moved north.

The apartment is wonderful. Plenty of space, two bathrooms (a requirement for two women) great views and wonderful neighbors. The only problem is that it’s on the third floor. There is an elevator, but it’s a little distance from our apartment. Next to our door, is a staircase that goes down to the area reserved for dogs which is what we use.

Mary and I had talked about getting another dog once we move to a house. We both agreed that living in an apartment was not the best environment for two dogs, especially if one was a puppy. We agreed no additions until we moved.

In June of 2019, my grieving process over Chloe’s death intensified. I would sit looking at pictures and videos of her. Of our three dogs, we rescued two of them, Chloe and Chancey. Fast Eddie was an Internet purchase, which much as we love Eddie, we would never do again. And I was vehement about never purchasing a dog from a pet shop.

Near us is a pet shop which I had only visited once during the first year of our living in the area. Whenever they had animals for sale, they would mention it on Facebook and would post a sign outside. They only sold small-sized dogs, French Bull Dogs, Pugs, Pomeranians and Shelties.  When they posted that there were puppies, I wouldn’t see the posting until days after the puppies went to their forever homes. Which didn’t matter because we weren’t getting a second dog.

This changed on July 2, 2019. I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a posting for Sheltie puppies. The posting dropped at 1:30 p.m. which was only 15 minutes old. Interesting, but not enough to go over to see them.

I was exhausted and decided to take a nap. While I napped, I had a dream about Chloe. She let me know that she missed me as much as I was missing her. She also let me know it was time to let her go. And, it would be okay to bring another dog into my life.

I woke up around 2:45 p.m., feeling fuzzy and trying to understand what my dream meant to me. I knew I needed to go over to the pet shop to just “look” at the puppies. 

I got there at 3 p.m. and one of the females had already been sold. There were two females left in the litter of six which were born on a local farm. One was black and white and the other was tri-color brown. My idea of a Sheltie was a smaller version of Lassie (a collie that had her own TV show from 1954 to 1973). 

I picked up the mini-Lassie, held her upright and looked directly into her eyes. I said, “Hi Gracie.” While I was holding her, a woman came up said, “What a cutie, can I hold her?” I thought, what happens if she doesn’t give Gracie back to me? I said, “No.”

BIG PROBLEM. Mary was in Massachusetts at a client site where they were facing a 6:00 p.m. deadline and I couldn’t reach her. If I left Gracie at the shop, she could be sold before I got back. If I wanted to put a hold on her so Mary could meet her it would cost $400 and wouldn’t be refunded if we didn’t buy her. Plus, the hold was only good for 24 hours.  Mary wasn’t due back until late the next day, (she would arrive around 10:00 p.m.). The following was the 4^th of July and the shop was closed.

What could I do? I purchased Gracie without checking with my wife of 14 years. Her reaction? Well folks, that’s another story that you can read about next week.

Until next time…