So….here it is.

This is the other “thing” that has been keeping me busy the last three weeks.

Loki.

An approximately one year old, male Springer Spaniel.

Don’t ask me why.  I couldn’t tell you even if I tried.

Don’t ask me how..well, I guess the how of it is easy to detail.

It’s the blasted why…and now what do we do? that I’m struggling with.

Long story short…I was posting the Missing ads for Max on Craigslist on Thursday afternoon January 17.  I came across a listing for a liver and white, male Springer Spaniel needing a home and my heart stopped I swear.  There was no picture and I held my breath until I called the number and asked for a description.

She was expecting me to call.

How weird is that?

She’d seen the countless ads for Max.  She was worried I would think she had our Max.  We talked.  She emailed a picture.

Then Gracelyn and I waited for daddy to come home.

It was a nervous couple of days…then, for some insane reason, it was decided we should go get this dog.  Gracelyn and I picked up Grammy and headed to Pueblo, Colorado.  That’s a long way away for those of you not familiar with the geography here.  And it was a long drive back home…stopping every few miles or so to clean up the latest round of recycled dog food.  LUCKILY it was recycled from the front end not the back end and mostly into the dog kennel and not the car.

We finally arrived home late Sunday night…and it’s been controlled chaos ever since.

Loki is not Max.  Not even close.  And we are all, Greg, Gracelyn, myself, Buck, coming to terms with this.

He is a sweet, sweet soul in a crazy Springer Spaniel body with an even crazier Springer Spaniel mind….and he was starving (literally and figuratively) for love.  In the short time with us, he’s put on at least a pound, lost the mats behind his ears that were the size of another pair of ears, had a lovely bath and learned how to clean out the bird feeders of the EXPENSIVE bird seed.

Will we ever know the mysterious ways in which the Universe works?  It was imperative that Loki find a home…he was being shuffled about and slowly starved to death.  If our dear, sweet little Maximus had not been missing, I would not have been on Craigslist.  I would not have seen the ad for Loki…he would not now be with us.

I think the important thing for all of us here is being willing to have open hearts…and open minds.  To be willing to surrender to the mystery of the Universe, to not question the things that unfold in front of our eyes, begging for our attention.

That being said…the search for Max continues.  The longing for his return is unabated.   We truly miss our little Max.  Our hearts ache for his furry little Springer body.  Loki is helping to ease some of the grief–and to that we are grateful.

Our family has grown by one…we would like it to include Maximus as well.  Sometimes we don’t always get what we want.  Sometimes the Universe has a plan for us that is not revealed when we think it should be.

And on that note, I must say goodnight.

And…meet Loki.