It began on a cold November Day.  It was one of those cold days with the leaves falling that all you wanted to do was stay in bed, have a cup of hot cocoa, and watch LifeTime.  Chase knew that I was under the weather lately and just couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of depression.  Even Tom knew that I was not myself and he too became affected by this blue mood that seemed to shroud our home.  I was going through the motions and that was probably just about it.

I was sitting at my desk when Tom called to see how I was feeling.  It had been a week already and I was still in that funk.  All he said was.  “I called the Pet Store and they are holding her for us.”

          “Her?  Her, who?”

          “The new addition to our family.  She is the only Rat Terrier they have.  I will pick you up right after work and we’ll go and pick her up.”

          I was shocked.  We had talked about getting another Rat Terrier for the longest time but something usually came up and it always seemed to fall through.  I tried hedging, but Tom, like always, would not be moved.  “I think this might be just the thing we need to snap out of this funk.  I know that we’ve talked about it.  Now, let’s do it.  Let’s bring her home tonight.”

          The rest of the day was a hazy blur.  I could hardly contain my excitement.  Of course I was concerned about how Chase would handle having a little sister.  Would I even be up for the challenge of going through that puppy training again?  I was working full time now but the new pup would be company for Chase while we were working.  I could hardly wait to get up there.

          This time we knew what we were in for.  We already had the crate and just needed the bare necessities.  I held her close while we filled out the paperwork.  She was a three pound beauty.  I named her Chelsea although there were other suggestions on the table but I loved the name and it went perfectly with Chase’s name.  It was settled and Chelsea came home.

          It was no surprise that she came home with kennel cough, they usually do, it’s the norm.  But as time went by Chelsea’s cough only got worse.  She had tried different medications but none really helped.  A couple of weeks later there was actually one medication which had us speeding up to emergency late at night.  Tom had given Chelsea her meds, she was on many, and suddenly her eyes rolled back into her head and it seemed like she stopped breathing.  We wasted no time getting on the road.  I had Tom phone my sister as she had the emergency number and she alerted them that we were in route.

          Tom cradled Chelsea’s limp body as she wheezed with great difficulty.  He spoke softly to her as he placed his face close to hers while I had the petal to the metal.  My heart was beating furiously as I tried to tell myself that everything was going to be all right.  I didn’t want to admit just how frightened I was at the prospect of losing this little pup.  Should we have known that she was allergic to this particular medication before tonight or was it simply that she had always been allergic and tonight had been her breaking point.  I knew nothing, and knowing nothing scared me more than knowing that we may have caused our pup this discomfort because we hadn’t known that she was allergic to this medication.

          The staff whisked her right inside the moment Tom brought her in.  They immediately gave her oxygen and little by little Chelsea responded.  She was to be taken off the Doxycycline immediately.  They prescribed another medication for the Kennel Cough that was a higher dosage than the one she’d had in the first place. 

          Little by little Chelsea got better and stronger.  I’ll never forget that night racing through the leave strewn streets my heart racing as fast as the speedometer.  I think it was one of the only times Tom did not criticize my driving skills.  It’s amazing the things you remember when you think back.  Also, the things you will do for the pup that you love. 

          To this day Chelsea still wheezes and there are times when she struggles with the change of seasons.  Both Chase and Chelsea have their little quips and quirks.  I can tell you that there is never a dull moment with either of them around.  They bring an immeasurable amount of love into our home which I cannot even begin to describe.  They are as different as night and day.  They do almost everything together.  And they look forward to seeing us and in my opinion; you can’t beat that fact in itself.  I come home to the Greeting Ritual everyday and I can tell you it is something I will never tire of.