I was worried about Jake this year with his daddy gone, and I've been really worried about how he's going to handle my folks leaving at the end of the month when they move back to WI. It is very hard for Jake to have people leave him - once he is attached he carries that for ever and he doesn't understand why people he love leave him.
Jake has always had a really strong connection with dogs. Dogs and horses are the only animals that really seem to bring him to life in a good way - it's like they draw something out of him that helps him make connections that he normally isn't able to make.Over the years, Jake has been exposed to dogs from puppy stage to very old hand, and he has enjoyed and interacted well with them all. During the past year and a half or so, whenever he has an encounter with a dog, he will ask Randy and I for puppy for anywhere from 1 day to two weeks after the encounter, and over the last few months his requests have grown to the point where even if he saw a dog on TV or in a car in a parking lot, he would ask for a puppy.
I am also a long time dog lover, but Randy is not, so it was a huge surprise to me when during a conversation a few days before Christmas, he said to go ahead and get Jake a puppy. It's not that Randy doesn't like dogs, he likes them just fine - he just doesn't like them in the house. In fact, he hates them in the house. Being on the Autistic spectrum himself, he likes things to be very neat, orderly and calm, which means dog hair on the furniture, dog smell in the house, and barking dog chasing cat are all very bad things. But, loving his little boy the way he does, he was willing to let a furry new friend into the house, with a few conditions.
First of all, we agreed to get a full grown dog, one that was already potty trained and had some manners. Second, since it would be a house dog, we agreed to keep it small, to around 15 lbs. And last, since pet hair is an issue, we agreed that we would only get a short haired dog. Oh, and since money is very tight, we agreed that we would not spend more than $50.
With agreement in hand, I set off to find the perfect dog. I went to the obvious place to start a search for anything, Craig's List. After reading about 1,000 ads, I still hadn't found the dog that was right for us. Next I went to all of the local pet shelter websites, where I was shocked to discover that you can not adopt a dog for under $150, and a good dog could be $300 or more! This from the Oregon human society!
I was running out of both time and a positive outlook when a few days before Christmas I received a note from a local dog breeder, telling me about a new litter of puppies she had. She sent me a link to an online ad, and there some of the cutest puppies I've ever seen in my entire life! Little fuzzy balls of fluffy hair with bright eyes and a sparkle of intelligence, my heart melted for a second, before I realized that A.) these were long haired Australian shepherd puppies, and B.) there was no possible way they would be within my price range.
So I emailed the breeder back and told her I would love one of her puppies, but my budget was $50, so there was no way I could take one. A short while later she emailed me back, and we chatted a little about our families; she had two sons that had recently returned from Iraq, and a daughter who was into horses.
Around the same time I spoke with Randy, and told him about the amazing puppies. "NO!" he said. "They get big, they are hairy, and they are really active. Forget it." I told him OK, but now it was late the night before Christmas eve, and so we could forget about getting Jake a dog for Christmas.
The next morning I woke up and had an email from someone who saw my "dog wanted" ad, asking me if I was aware that there were several dog trainers in the local area who trained dogs to work with Autistic kids, as therapy dogs. I started looking into it and found one of them was located one town away. I got in touch with Randy and said, "Maybe we can alter our criteria some, since we can take the dog to one of these speciality trainers." Randy was luke warm to the idea of getting a puppy and letting it grow up and then sending it the trainers, so I let it go.
A few hours late, I heard back from the breeder that I had been chatting with, and she told me that she might be willing to take my $50, and trade me out of the rest of the balance due. Her daughter needed some horse tack and they would be interested in trading a puppy! I thanked her, but let her know that my husband really wanted a dog that would stay under 30 lbs, and at the average of 45 that Aussies attain, it just wouldn't work out.
I couldn't get the picture of that cute little pup out of my head though, and since time was running out, I did the only thing that was left to do, I prayed. "Please Lord, send us the right dog for us. " Within a few more hours I had a message from Randy - get the puppy.
I immediately contacted the breeder, and told her that we could take one after all! I was thrilled at the idea of giving Jake a puppy for Christmas, and I was amazed at how quickly it had all come together, when the breeder gave me another surprise - her husband would like to dress up like Santa and deliver the puppy Christmas morning!
Although I know that Jake can get overwhelmed in situations like these, I still didn't hesitate - I knew this could be a memory that he would cherish for a lifetime - so I said we would love it if Santa could come over. Then I headed out to the store to buy some small puppy treats - a few bones and a little collar, and I wrapped them up and stuck them under the tree with Jake's presents.
Christmas morning really was magical. Jake woke up in a very "on" mode, and after a call from the breeder to set up a time for Santa's arrival, we went about open presents. I really can't describe how the visit from Santa went, but you can see for yourself by watching the video!
As you can see, it really was a special time, and in two short weeks Skunk has become a really great member of the family.
I would like to thank the Bakers, who really went out of their way to come here Christmas morning and bring Skunk and Santa to Jake. They held off on opening their own gifts and starting their own Christmas to make sure Jake enjoyed his, even though we were complete strangers. Thanks Melody and fam!!
