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We have always been “dog” people; never “cat” people. For most of our boys’ lives, we had a dog. Nugget, Spooner and then Sara. Sara, our 13 ½ year old terrier mix died the fall of Ryan’s junior year. We were all very sad. Ryan pleaded for a replacement pet but Ron and I said no. We explained that he would soon be leaving for college and we would be empty nesters. We wanted the freedom to travel without worrying about a dog at home. That didn’t stop Ryan from continuing to ask for a dog. On Christmas morning of his senior year, I realized I hadn’t seen him open his “big present”, a new i-pod. So I asked if he had opened the gift that he had really wanted. His eyes lit up and he said “ A dog?!!!!” I felt so guilty there was no puppy under our tree. But we stuck to our guns and didn’t get a new dog. After we lost Ryan, friends began to subtly and sometimes not so subtly suggest we get a dog to help with our loneliness and profound sadness. We resisted. Neither Ron nor I wanted to love anything or anyone else that was going to die and leave us. Our hearts couldn’t stand to be broken again. Time passed and friends continued to suggest a dog. I even began to think it was a good idea since I was so worried about Ron. He spent much more time alone at our big, sad house than I did. I was traveling quite a bit and Ross was still living in Turlock. Ron’s days were long and lonely most of the time. He cried every day and the sadness threatened to overtake him. We began a half hearted search at the local SPCA shelters. Nothing seemed right. Most of the dogs were pit bull mixes, cleverly tagged “American Staffies”. That wasn’t what we wanted. Our good friend in Georgia, Valerie, began sending us photos of dogs available in the shelters in Georgia. I dismissed her efforts as outrageous. How were we supposed to get a dog from Georgia to California anyway? In early December of 2008, I went to Georgia on business. At the end of the day, Valerie concocted a plan to take me to the animal shelter under the guise of a “market tour”. Once at the shelter, there he was. A darling little black & white mixed breed dog named Scrumpadumpalous. It was love at first sight for me but I still had to convince Mr. D. I took a photo of him with Val’s cell phone and sent it to him. Valerie offered to take care of the myriad details involved in adopting a dog in Georgia and getting him to California since I was scheduled to fly home the following morning. Ron reluctantly relented and the complicated and expensive process began. Six days later Ron went to the Delta terminal at the Sacramento International Airport and picked up our pooch. Scrumpy immediately loved us as much as we loved him. Now, almost a year later, he is a beloved member of our family. He has brought us untold joy and has truly helped heal our broken hearts. We have all read of the healing powers of pets. I now know it to be true. Scrumpy has helped all three of us. He makes us laugh. He loves us unconditionally and fully. In many ways, he saved us from drowning in our own grief. Our friends were right. We needed a dog.