Sunday, January 04, 2009

Relative Bliss

You may have hit a few blips, a few bumps in the early 2009 road, but take solace in the likelihood that your year has been nowhere near as crappy as my neighbor Daniel's year so far. He lives down the block, and we just met for the first time yesterday when his terrified but adorable puppy showed up in my yard.

The dog--an apparent Rotty/Dobie mix named Bruiser--had a PetFinder tag on his collar, so the girlfriend was able to track down his owner's name and number while Bruiser, all tail tucks and full-body wiggles, climbed into my lap to be comforted while he waited to be taken home.

Daniel walked up with a leash a few minutes later, looking like someone had gobsmacked him with a figurative cinder block, and mumbled that his girlfriend had just ransacked his house, sold his car, and stolen his computer before walking out on him, and had let the dog out in the process. He stammered out his appreciation to us, clipped the leash to Bruiser's harness, and walked back down the street, softly telling the dog I didn't think I'd see you again.

Good luck, man. Can't top that tale of misery.

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