The View from Here

We are finally coming to the conclusion of a huge outdoor home project that has been years in the making…hopefully the next-to-last summer of big, expensive home projects (said with slight smirk, as I know both my husband and myself all too well when it comes to how much we love working on Chez Gainey).

After we’d made the big run for soil and flowers for the new planters at the front of our home, Dan asked if I wanted to ride with him back to Home Depot for a few more flowers. I had been telling him for quite a while that I wanted to bring our husky, Marley, with us on one of these excursions, so I decided to grab her leash and load our sweet girl into the Countryman for her first trip to Lowe’s/Home Depot (she is a Gainey, after all!).

From the moment we walked through the glass doors, so many people stopped to love on her, and she loved every moment of affection. However, I knew the real reason of why I’d felt the pull to bring her with us when a tall man in a red flannel shirt tentatively asked if he could pet Marley, asking questions about her as he bent over and gently rubbed her head and back. When he looked up, his face was beet red and he was quietly sobbing, saying that he’d just lost his dog last night. I started crying, too, putting my hand on his shoulder to tell him I was so sorry for his loss. He stroked Marley’s thick fur once more and thanked me for bringing her before he walked away, wiping his eyes.

Serendipity is a beautiful thing. Marley, part angel that she is, was able to bring smiles to many, and some solace to an aching, grieving, heart. I can’t seem to stop thinking about our encounter with the gentleman, and the good work that Marley did in comforting him by being her calm, gentle self. Like many dogs, our girl is a true therapy dog…only she’s just freelancing. We’ll definitely be making more trips to Home Depot and Lowe’s; there are still projects galore to be done for our one hundred-year-old home…and Marley has much more work to do, too, spreading joy.