Isn't there a show for this kind of stuff? (Hey Cesar......call me......)

I have a crazy, epileptic, annoying, barking, incredible dog named Junior.

We adopted him ten years ago from the local SPCA, as a way to console The Golden Boy after he had to have a procedure to place tubes in his always-infected ears.  (It was just another great parenting blunder that one adds to an every increasing list.)

He's part beagle, hound and some kind of spaniel- or so they said.  

We already had another rescue dog at home that we adopted after Sassy’s ear tube insertion, and apparently had lost our minds.

This particular dog managed to attach itself the mother of this clan, even though I already had WAY too many children to care for.  He didn’t seem to mind.  Our older dog, Abbot, attached herself mostly to “he who shall not be named”, and to Bitchy.  Junior, as a result, would not let me out of his sight.  He would sit at my feet and always complained when The Golden Boy and I would cuddle before bedtime.

It was very traumatic for him when I made my departure, and he was held prisoner at the old residence.  It was months before someone tired of taking care of a pet he disliked and finally relinquished him to his mother. 

These days Junior sits at the window and peers out the window waiting for his mother to come home from work.  I walk him around the new neighborhood and take him on hikes up the mountain.  While he loves all the activity around this family-lined street, he still loves the chance to run free up the mountain.

I was walking him up the street a week ago, and a lovely older woman who lives two doors down yelled at me from her garage.

“Is that Rumple?”

“What?”  I asked, thinking that surely I had misheard her.

“Is that Rumple? Rumplestiltskin?”

“No,” I said smiling, “This is Junior!”  And I kept walking.  I shook my head smiling, thinking that she was a BIT off her rocker.  We finished our walk, and I put it out of my mind.

Until yesterday.

I was working at my dining room table when Junior started barking incessantly at the front window.  This isn’t unusual, but I stood up and looked out anyway.  Imagine my SHOCK when I saw a dog that looked JUST LIKE JUNIOR!  It was being walked by what looked like a high school girl, and I turned and ran out the door.

“Wait!”  I shouted to the girl.

She turned and I added, “Hi!  I hope you don’t mind, but your dog  looks just like my dog!”  I smiled at her and pointed to the window.

“He does!” she said.  “Wow!”

“What’s your dog’s name?”

She laughed, “It’s Rumple!”

“Well, that explains a lot!”  And I relayed the story about the neighbor woman.   “They do look like brothers!  But, I’m sure they’re not because Junior is ten years old.”

“Really?” She said.  “Rumple is ten years old, too!”

“We got Junior at the SPCA.” I told her, surprised that they were the same age.  

“And we got Rumple from the SPCA!” 

Rumple.......

Junior....

Oh sweet Jesus.    I will never ceased to be amazed by what happens in this life.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy planning some play dates…