Jul 04 2007
Chestnut turns 8
It is hard to believe that the dog we rescued when he was only 4 days old is turning 8 years old tomorrow. Owning a dog in NYC has a unique set of challenges. It’s not like you can just throw open the back door and let him go pee. Well, you could if you lived on the 1st floor of a Brownstone .. but that is a different story all together.
My point of this post is that I can clearly remember the decision I made at 6pm July 9th, 1999 that changed my entire life from that point forward. The decision was simple. Made in a split second like, “let’s go out for dinner”. I had been working for 70+ per week on a consulting assignment for the past 6 months and Sharon and I had not spent much time together. I wanted to make it up to her so I decided to skip the gym and meet her uptown for dinner. I thought it would be a nice surprise. That decision .. to meet her vs going to the gym changed every moment that followed. If I had just gone to the gym and met Sharon at home after we wouldn’t have had a nice dinner at Popover Cafe (great place BTW) and stopped by Fairway to get groceries on the way home. Wouldn’t have stopped at Pat’s animal rescue table in front of the supermarket to make a donation. Wouldn’t have stopped to ask her about the box of eight puppies she was caring for. Wouldn’t have agreed to help her foster 4 of the puppies (they were abandoned in front of the NY Center for Animal Care and Control). Wouldn’t have spent all weekend caring and feeding for them and then deciding to help raise them until they were old enough to be adopted. Fallen in love with a chestnut colored puppy who would change our lives forever and help find homes for Ricky (now Eli), Ethel (now deceased) and Lucy (now Sofie).
Because I didn’t go to the gym that day, I got a dog, which lead to Sharon and I buying an apartment, which lead to us having a child. Who knew one dog had so much power over a person’s life.
The rest is history. You can even read about it in Dan Ackerman’s July, 16, 2000 NY Times article, “Meaningful Peer-Group Experience for your Dog” (pdf).
So .. remember that the next time you decide to skip the gym.
