Lost & Found

I am so overwhelmed right now with emotions, ranging from pure happiness to pure saddened nostalgia. I will try to convey this without jumping around too much.

The past two nights, going on to the third now, a lost dog has been staying at my house. He's a very interesting fellow. First of all, I love him already. Too much, too soon. I'm really afraid of what could happen next. Let me try to tell the story...

I came home yesterday afternoon and immediately noticed our old dog bowls out. I instantly knew a dog was in my house and assumed it was a friend of my brother or dad's. I finally see the little guy come running at me. He's an adorable tan Chihuahua. He has a smooth coat, very clean, not neutered, with a collar but no tag. He instantly jumped on my bed with me and started giving me tons of love. My dad was napping and my brother was in the shower so I didn't get the chance to immediately ask about him. But I instantly connect him with my lost love, Sparky. The dog we put down November of 2009.

He seems well trained, already knew how to use our doggy door, hasn't chewed anything up yet. Although he has marked his territory a couple of times. He started to follow me around everywhere I went...just like Sparky.

Finally my brother gets out of the shower and my dad wakes up. I ask both who owns the dog and neither of them know. That's when I find out he's a lost dog and stayed the night prior. He seems comfortable and not skittish like most Chihuahuas. My dad took him for walks around our neighborhood talking to some neighbors trying to find out if anyone knows who he belongs to. No luck. I spent a couple hours looking up any website I could to see if he matched any of the lost dog ads. No luck there either. It's hard to tell how long he has been lost but he seemed healthy despite being a little skinny. I cannot tell exactly how old he is, but taking in consideration that he seems well trained, I want to say he's at least a year old. Still full of energy.

Everything he did reminded me of Sparky. I couldn't get the thought out of my head. He looks a bit like him too, although he's much smaller. Sometimes he resembles a cute bat with his big perky ears, and sometimes he resembles the Taco Bell dog.

He sat in my lap, I asked him, "Why are you here?" He licked my face once and I teared up.

I went out for the night but was eagerly looking forward to sleeping with the dog with no name. When I got home, I knew already, that I was going to cry. He jumps in my bed and burrows into my blankets and falls asleep instantly. I want him here, forever. It's so taunting. I cry. I cuddle him and take in his warm scent that further reminds me of Sparky and fuels my tears even more. At that moment I already came up with a name for him. Tesla.

He slept with me all night til my father awoke early in the morning. After that, literally every ten minutes he came and jumped on my bed, licked me a bunch, walked around the bed and hurried off. He continued this for hours, napping with me here and there.

All I can think is, why is he here. Why now. Why us. It breaks my heart knowing that we may have to give him back within days. I can't help but to think he's here for a reason. I can't help but to think of nothing but Sparky.

When I'm finally ready to get out of bed, my father joins us and tells me that he wants to keep him. I'm extremely elated. But the catch is, if the owner does come out of the woodwork, we'll obviously have to give him back. When we take him to the vet soon and if he has a chip that locates the owner, we'll have to give him back. My boyfriend, who works in animal control, informed me that after him being in our home for at least 6 days, he's technically ours. I'm surprised mostly, but slightly not, that my father wants to keep him. But I could tell how much my dad likes having him around. Letting him stand on my dad's stomach and lick his face. My dad chasing him around the house like a child. Despite my dad's hard edge, I know that dogs always have a place in his heart. Despite the heartbreak we've had to deal with dogs over the course of our lives recently, my dad seemed to definitely want a break from dogs. But now with this young fellow in our house, we all feel ready to welcome him. I then make some comment about naming him.

We walk outside to our backyard to greet my brother. My dad says, "What do we name him?" Of course my brother says, "Taco." Thereafter I say, "Tesla". My dad doesn't throw a concrete idea out, but neither does he confirm liking ours. I disagree with my brother's idea because I once had a friend who had a handful of Chihuahuas all named after various Mexican food items such as Taco, Enchilada, Burrito, etc. I don't want to associate this beautiful creature with such a crappy name, especially since I've already got my heart set on Tesla.

I gave him a bath, all of which he reacted to just as Sparky always has. He knows how to open doors like Sparky. He sits outside my bathroom door all the while I shower, just like Sparky. He continues to follow me everywhere, like Sparky. I took him for a ride in my car, he was a good passenger like Sparky. He can sit and give his paw out for a shake, like Sparky. It's killing me but making it harder and harder to process that this is a whole different dog.

Later our mail came in. My recent purchase of a Tesla > Edison bumper sticker came in. I showed my dad and said "You might find this funny." I thought the connection was deeper and filled with fate.

I had to get out of the house for a bit so when I left I said good bye to the little guy. It was as if he was giving me a hug. He was on my bed and lent out his paw, as I put my arm under it, he leans both arms onto it leaning his head down for me to envelop him. I can't let this guy go...


Unfortunately I left my camera a friend's house from a 20's style party, so I have no photos to share of him just yet. But that doesn't mean I've already took a half dozen of them with my phone.

Other than this post, I have only told 4 friends about this dog. I don't want to jinx it just yet...