Sapphire Surprise

Our son, Daniel, has had an anxiety disorder since he was a tiny child. As he grew up, we began to worry about him because of his reactions when we would leave. At one time, I was unable to go to the grocery store for an hour without him calling me to see how much longer before I would be home. He was eleven years old, and afraid of being left alone for any period of time.

Brian and I prayed about Daniel a lot and what we should do to help him. We had considered counseling for him, but just didn’t feel it was quite the answer he needed. In what we thought was a separate issue, we discussed getting a dog for the kids, but I didn’t want to deal with cleaning up after, and feeding a pet. One day, I realized that the idea of getting a dog was an inspiration from above and possibly an answer to our prayers for Daniel. It was November of 2003, so we decided that we would surprise Danny with a dog for Christmas.

I researched the different breeds, and decided that I would be happiest with a small dog, that was still rough and tumble enough for an eleven year old boy. I chose a beagle. It took a few weeks to locate a breeder who would have beagle puppies ready for Christmas, but I found one out in Victorville who had two litters that would be ready around the first week of December. The breeder called me and set up the appointment for a Sunday around 11:30. He was not flexible at all with his date and time. Apparently, all the interested buyers were contacted to come pick out their puppy on the same afternoon. So, Brian and I decided to tell Daniel that he would have to leave church early with mom for a surprise.

I gave Daniel two hints on the way to Victorville: Tall and not Blue. He had no idea what I was talking about. He didn’t know we had even considered a dog, and furthermore, he had never heard of a blue dog. I had looked at a lot of pictures of beagles and I didn’t like the looks of the blue tick beagles, and Brian didn’t want a squatty looking dog. We arrived at the breeders house, which looked like any other house on the block. Danny was still completely clueless as to why we had driven all the way out to Victorville to someone’s house.

As soon as we walked in the door, we saw at least ten puppies in a doggie playpen. The look on Danny’s face was priceless. He was completely shocked and at the same time, thrilled. He played with all the puppies and watched each of them carefully. There were two short blue beagles who were sisters and one was a little bigger than the other. The larger one was playing too rough with the smaller one. Danny’s protective instincts kicked in, and he reached in to rescue the smaller dog. It must have been love at first sight, because he insisted that she was the dog he wanted. I was sure he would want a male dog, and that dog was not only female, but short and blue. But, it was Danny’s surprise, and I wanted him to be happy. We brought the puppy home and named her Sapphire after her bluish color.

The biggest surprise was not the one that Danny had, however. It was the one that I had. I fully expected to be annoyed by the dog and hoped she would live in the backyard and stay out of my way. Instead, I found myself holding her all night so that she wouldn’t cry, and coddling her like she was my own child. I have found that she was as much an answer to our prayers about Danny, as to my personal prayers about filling a void in my life.

Today, I absolutely adore that little chubby dog. She is truly man’s best friend. She is the most cuddly and sweet natured animal I’ve ever known. Sometimes I like her more than my own children. She never talks back, she doesn’t even bark. She is obedient, and she loves me unconditionally. I am completely taken by surprise that I enjoy her as much as I do.