"How does a restaurant closing for the day lead to an easing of grief? Well, my poodle-mix, Apricot, had died and I was desolate for several weeks before I accepted that the only way that I was going to feel whole again was to adopt another dog to love. So, I bullied a friend into visiting a shelter with me – but first she wanted breakfast. The restaurant where we intended to eat was closed and we had to find a second choice.

As we were leaving the second restaurant, I noticed a woman putting a little white dog into a car seat. I had seen the car seat in catalogs and was interested in it.  So, after my friend and I admired the dog, I asked how she liked the seat. The woman was Mary Harrigan and, of course, the conversation moved from the dog car seat to the fact that I was going to a shelter. I told her about my loss and my need for a new four-legged companion. She told me about Atlantic Maltese Rescue. Immediately, I asked if she had a dog available. Mary told me that, on that day, she had two dogs needing a home, two dogs who had been together all their lives and she wanted them to stay together. In addition, the older of the two dogs, a five-year-old, had a minor heart condition and was on daily medication. Her goal was to find somebody who could give a home to both dogs and could deal with daily medication and the prospect of future heart problems.

Apricot died of congestive heart disease and had been on daily medication for stomach problems for most of the five years she had lived with me, so I understood all too well what a heart problem could entail and I knew just as well that these were my dogs! I told Mary that I had the best vet in world, that daily medication would not be a problem for me and that I understood the future possibilities. Mary then told me more about Barney and Clyde and promised to send me an email with a picture and an application form. 

About a month after my initial meeting with Mary, she and I stood in a mall parking lot waiting for Barney and Clyde – and I worried! Would they like me? Would they like my house and fenced in yard? Would they like the treats I had for them? Would they sit on the sofa with me while I read or watched TV?  Would they play with me? I suspect that you know the answers, but at that moment I was very nervous! 

Barney and Clyde have lived with me for a few months now and it appears that they like my house, like being on the sofa and they love being fed treats. They like the fenced-in yard too, but the nicest thing of all is that they like me, and they want my company while they play in the yard. 

I haven’t forgotten Apricot, but it is easier to remember the happy times with her when I have Barney and Clyde on my lap."