From Maria:
"I don't have a current picture of our sweet dog Bruce, this was taken at the end of March as we were preparing to move to San Diego...me, Matt, Mitch and sweet Bruce. Bruce has had a hard life and seems to have all the same problems we have...complete instability. Strangest thing happened yesterday...you be the judge:
First of all, there is a long story about how we acquired Bruce...but in the essence of time I'll just say this...Mitch found Bruce at the pound...he was a runaway. Mitch had wanted a dog for a long time. We have had many dogs over the years that had never attached to us quite like Bruce. When we moved into our newly built home and could have a dog again we began thinking about if we we really wanted the work of one again. After two of Mitch's friends died in a very tragic way, we knew he needed a companion to help him through. My ex found a very expensive and beautiful retriever puppy...who died shortly after we brought him home...this just added to his pain and Mitch decided he really didn't want a dog anyway.
So why Mitch decided on that particular day a few years ago, to go to the pound by himself to look for a dog is anybodies guess...he just felt the inspiration to do it and called me at work to say "I found my dog". He knew immediately that Bruce (named after Bruce Wayne...Batman...and Bruce Lee because Mitch likes him too) was his dog and if he didn't bring him home, the pound would have put him to sleep the next day. Mitch loved that he saved Bruce's life...and more importantly, at the time, Mitch felt Bruce saved his life. Needless to say, Bruce has been a very important friend to our family in the last few rocky years.
This past April, Bruce stayed with Mitch at a friends house after I moved to SD...he wasn't comfortable at his Dad's. I was trying to find a place to bring Bruce but haven't been able to do so. Mitch had to make a decision as to whether to live at his Dads in June, his brothers or with me. Mitch wanted to go where Bruce went. He tried it at his Dad's for a bit and kept Bruce but when that didn't go well he decided to come to SD. Matt was living at his Dad's at the time and assured Mitch he'd keep Bruce with him. For whatever reason, his Dad didn't want Bruce there. While I was in Sweden, I asked my ex to just keep him til I got back and I would find a place for him. Again, for whatever reason, my ex couldn't wait. He did find a nice home for him with a big yard and let Mitch know he would be given to this other family. This threw Mitch into a panic and he jumped in his car to drive the 12 hours and see his beloved dog once more. On the way...he totaled his car. He never made it to see Bruce. Mitch was fine physically...but that's about all I can say.
There were a lot of tears by both Matt and Mitch when it came to losing our sweet friend...and it was only a small consolation that he was in a good home. Needless to say, the attachment to our pets is as strong as to a person and he has not been forgotten even a little bit. There was always the hope that somehow he would be with us again. Mitch was able to go visit his friend this past trip to Susanville a few weeks ago and had some 'closure' and accepted the reality that Bruce has a new home and seemed to be happy there. I thought that was the end of the story. But like any good book...there is always a strange twist.
So to the point of my long story.
Yesterday, Matt who was home visiting from Tahoe for a dental appointment was upset about something with his Dad. Matt moved into a home in Tahoe that he could have a pet and felt he needed a companion to comfort him. He went to the pound in Susanville. Again, this is not something any of my children ever do...so Mitch doing it the first time was odd...Matt doing it the second time was odder still. And lo and behold but who was in the animal shelter? Bruce. Was Matt inspired to bring home our dog? Poor Bruce had been there for 8 days...it wasn't likely they would have kept him much longer and the thought that had Matt not found him and he would have been put down without any of us knowing is frightening. No one knew at the time what the story was but Matt broke down when he saw our dog and called his Grandma to come and help save him...he needed pound fees and rabies shots to get him out of 'jail'. As Grandma always does, she jumped in the car to save her grandson and his beloved pet.
The rest of the story:
I received an email from my ex (which was odd because that just doesn't happen)...Matt had left a message with the people who had the dog to say 'What the....?" basically and I guess they called my ex. They said he 'ran away' and they 'called' the pound and they said they didn't have him. They wanted him back. I left it up to Matt to decide what to do...but the questions one has to ask:
Bruce lived with us for a long time with complete freedom and no fence...he never ran away...so why did he run from them?
He was at the pound for 8 days...why would the pound say he wasn't there if he was?
Why wouldn't the people who lost him go look for themselves if they cared that much?
If Matt hadn't been there to find him on that day Bruce would have been put down (or adopted by someone else) and neither the other people, nor us would have ever known what happened to him...was Matt inspired to find him and bring him home?
Matt tried to talk to the other people and explain the situation and that he was going to keep the dog (he found him, he paid the fees, he was ours before and should have never been given away, etc.) but they aren't very happy with him. I'm pretty sure my ex thinks the dog should be given back to those people and that they have been 'hurt' by this. But what about the 'hurt' of my kids...who never should have lost their dog in the first place. This all could have been avoided...Bruce never really needed to be kicked out of his family...he just wasn't welcome in his own home...which is pretty much how everyone else in the family feels too. Somehow I think it is meant to be...he really does belong to us in every possible way. I'm so glad Matt listened to those tender promptings to go to the pound yesterday. We haven't even told Mitch yet..."
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