You Never Forget Your First Love

I told myself that I was going to let today pass on the blog without mentioning this, but I find that I just can't do it.  Today was a special day in history.  I didn't know it at the time, but it's a date that I'll always remember now.  On February 5, 1997 a litter of Greyhound puppies was born.  They were average racers, not the worst, but not outstanding and most of them were done racing before they turned four years old. 

One of those dogs went by the racing name of Adios Treat.  She retired at three and a half years old.  It is astonishing to me that she waited in the adoption kennel as long as she did.  Not only was she adorable, she was friendly and cat safe.  When Mr. Taleteller and I went to the adoption kennel, she was one of only four cat safe dogs and the only of those who was a female.

We really had no choice in the matter.  Treat had decided from our first meeting that we were hers.  I can still remember how she looked back at us longingly when she was led back to her crate.  She was the only one of the dogs we met who gave us a backwards glance.  When we went back up to choose our dog after being approved, she made sure she was beside one of the two of us the entire time we sat there hemming and hawing and deluding ourselves that we had any choice in the matter.  When one of the other dogs, who were all considerably larger than she was, got too close to us, she wormed her way between that dog and the person who'd been getting attention.  An hour and a half later, we finally came to our senses and decided on Treat.  We picked out her first collar and coat and headed back home with her in my mom and stepdad's SUV that we'd borrowed to get up there in.  It had snowed like gangbusters the day before and we'd been worried we wouldn't make it in our car. 

I could tell a thousand funny stories about Treat.  She lived an extraordinary life.  One of the kennel volunteers used to joke to me that she always told her "You're no Treat" when she was at the kennel.  I used to grit my teeth when she'd tell that story.  I still don't think it's funny.  In my opinion, she could not have been more perfectly named.  She absolutely was a Treat every day that we shared with her.  She was our first Greyhound and I will never forget her.

As I sat thinking about her this week, I realized that she has left an impressive legacy.  After Treat's arrival, four more Greyhounds found their way into our home.  We went to a lot of Meet and Greets with her and Treat was an amazing ambassadog.  I know that there were several adoptions because people wanted to take her home and couldn't, so they went to the adoption kennel themselves to find a companion.  Without Treat, there wouldn't be a little blue fawn princess named Bunny curled up beside me on the couch as I write this.  Already we've heard from two people on Facebook who have adopted Greyhounds after reading about Bunny on our blog. 

So, while Treat is no longer with us, it seems that she lives on.  If I'd realized the heartache that we went through when we lost her would one day lead to this I don't think that it would have made it hurt less, but I do think that it would have made it more bearable.  I'm still so happy that we were lucky enough to spend our lives with her.  You never know where a small decision will lead you, but sometimes it turns out to be much larger than you expected.  Our lives have been enriched more than I can say by the decision we made to bring Treat home with us. 

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