Our landlord breeds
AKC dogs. His most recent batch was half
bull mastiff, half
German Shepherd. The pups were born the first of December. When paying our rent, we always enjoyed playing with the fluffy little fellows. Paul asked, out of curiosity, how much a pup costs. The answer, $400. Whoa! We had no interest in adding another dog. Certainly not at that price. A few months ago, the landlord joked and said, "If you want one I can give you a real good deal on one."
Fast forward. Paul was out of work for a few months with herniated discs in his back. The landlord knows this. He was flexible with our rent payments during that time. He knows we have had financial struggles. BUT, two weeks ago the landlord stopped by and told me, "We want to give you a pup." My answer was that we would have to pray about it, because it is a huge decision. The landlord said that he could respect that. In the meanwhile I prayed hard.
The landlord called that same week and said, "I want to bring over a pup now." So, we said we would take a look at him. The dog seemed nice, but shy. He and Daisy (our 7yo lab scuffled a bit). I asked if we could return the pup if he didn't work out. (You see,
last time we took someone's pup it was a nightmare. We had to
give that puppy to someone who could make it happier. we felt guilty, but it was the right decision. The pup went to a rancher from Florida who really wanted a good herd dog! Praise Jesus!) Anyway, we did NOT want to rush into another puppy catastrophe. Our landlord said that we could return the dog if he didn't work out.
What seems strange, and we ourselves do not fully understand it, is that the landlord pushed this pup on us. We like the dog... but we would not have chosen this particular season of our life for a new dog.
BUT,
I believe now that this pup is a gift to us from the Lord. God has given us this dog.
We have decided to keep the pup. And, we agreed on a name last night. STEEL. We thought about literary names. Artists. Music styles. Gun Types. And, when I said, "Remington," I thought we had a winner. Then, I joked, "Remington Steel." Paul said, "Steel!, That is a solid name." So, our new pup has been named Steel.
Steel is kind and playful. Easy to teach. Loveable. Never barks. Plays well with Daisy. He is a puppy, so there is also chewing of anything in the yard. Jumping up (which we are quickly training out of him).
We love our new dog. And, I am assuming that we will have years of
posting about Steel ahead of us. Welcome to the family, Steel.