In January 2009, we lost our dog Pudge. He went out to use the bathroom one night and wasn't there when we called him back inside. We looked for him for weeks, using everything we could think of. We all cried just about every day he was gone. After 5 weeks, when we had given up hope, we found Pudge. At least, I'm pretty sure we did.
My husband got a call from a shelter in Defiance Ohio and went to look at the dog. This dog was smaller and had more hair than Pudge, but it could be him if he had on a winter coat and had lost about 15 lbs. Mark went into the cage and said, "Pudge?" and said the dog looked up at him, with his head cocked to the side, in the universal dog language of "Huh?" He brought him home, and we welcomed him as our Pudge. He is mostly like Pudge, going upstairs to check on the children when they are playing in their rooms, and loving us without reservation. He does have some un-Pudge behaviors, like not kissing - EVER - and jumping on us constantly.
When my mom came to visit and see Pudge, she asked me to take a walk with her. As soon as we got out of earshot of the rest of our family members, she pulled me by the sleeve and whispered, "That's not Pudge."
I know just what she means. I'm 80% sure we have Pudge. He's so much like our lost boy, and we missed him so desperately, that I've decided the other 20% doesn't matter. If he's not Pudge, he's a gift from the universe.
