His name is Oskar and he was irresistible from the moment I met him. Tiny and jet-black, with eyes that could make even the infamous Mata Hari seem innocent. Little did I know that from our first meeting would come a bond so strong that it would eventually, in all likelihood, save his life.
Oskar's home life seemed positive at first, although his owner often complained about his potty habits. During the initial weeks of our introductory period, he was inside and a part of the family. I loved having him climb onto my lap and be able to smell his little puppy breath. Without realizing it, a couple of weeks turned into two months and I became aware that I had not seen him in the house. An inquiry to one of the kids brought the information that he was banished to the basement because he wasn't house-trained. This seemed logical to me until, during the brutally cold weeks of winter, the garage door was up and I saw him sitting on a bale of straw with a couple of bowls on the garage floor near the straw. This did not set well with me, but I bit my tongue. Winter turned to spring and I next found him tied on a long chain in the backyard, barking up a storm, trying to get someone to pay attention to him. I inquired about him and was told he was a challenging dog who no one had time to train. I gently made the comment that if he turned out to be too much work I'd be happy to take him. This comment was met with a snappish reply for me to mind my own business. Realizing I'd over-stepped my bounds, I never mentioned the dog again but continued to see him confined to the backyard's chain and could always hear him barking. I ached for the beautiful dog who was clearly being ignored at best. I never mentioned him to Capt. SO because....well, because I knew he'd think I was nuts to ever offer to take in another dog.
One day, in early May, Oskar's owner said to me, "Were you serious about Oskar?" It never once occurred to me to check with Capt. SO before giving my answer of a resounding, "Yes!" I went home and confessed that we had just agreed to "adopt" a dog in need. After making arrangements to pick up Oskar, the day arrived for us to bring him to our house. We packed up all of his equipment and went to the backyard to make the final "rescue". Oskar, still on the chain, ran right up to Capt. SO through the muddy yard, and firmly planted his dirty front feet firmly on his chest. That was their introduction and it was love at first sight.
We adopted Oskar into our family, although it was more as if Oskar adopted us into his family. Our aging Springer, Max, was clearly confused and became quite depressed, at first, with Oskar's youth and vitality. They eventually forged a bond although I don't think Max ever recovered from the shock of feeling misplaced by the shiny, black youngster.
Oskar was with us for a little over five months, in which time we had him neutered and trained. Five months may seem short but it was enough time to thoroughly fall in love with Oskar. When he first came to live with us his bladder control was non-existent. He was highly skilled and adept at peeing while running down the hardwood-covered hallway on the way to the outdoors early in the morning. I lost count on how many mornings his first outing was following by the mopping of the hallway. All I can say is thank goodness we had gone to hardwood and given up the carpeting!
The week before Thanksgiving of that year Oskar went to live with his new owner, someone we knew and were confident would treat Oskar with the love and respect he deserved. Pieces of our hearts went with Oskar that day and those heart-parts have never been recovered. We've not seen Oskar since that day we said "Goodbye". It was just too painful then. Even now I think it would hurt to put my finders through his soft coat. In my project of going through documents and photographs, I've looked at many pictures of Oskar from our brief time with him, including puppy pictures his first owner sent with us. His were eyes that could melt hearts. Our Max's eyes were always full of mischief. Oskar's eyes were always filled with love. I suspect they still are.
I miss you, Oskar. I hope you are well.
Ancora imparo
