Look for the Gift

Today is a special day in the Facciani family.

Exactly 15 months ago, our we embarked on a exciting new chapter. We got our first dog – a lab/golden rescue mix named Bailey. We were filled with joy, optimism, and blissful ignorance about a new stage of our family life that was about to begin.

Our hopeful vision quickly morphed into a dysfunctional nightmare. It wasn’t the shift in routine and work required to own a dog; we had all signed on for that. It wasn’t the energy required to walk this exuberant eight month old puppy on repeat to ensure a full work day and a little quiet time at night. It was the multiple scary biting incidents that left us wondering, “What if?”

Less than one month after picking up what was supposed to be the new centerpiece of our family, we returned Bailey to the rescue. The drive back from central Pennsylvania was filled with tears – the majority of which being my own, as I had bonded quickly to him despite the challenges. I felt empty inside. I felt like a complete failure that on my watch, we couldn’t even keep a dog for a month.

The winter was dark. The house was barren without Bailey. There was nothing to talk about. One of my daughters was slightly more engaged than a statue for the next few month. My wife and I knew it was the right decision, but it sure as hell didn’t make it any easier. We are never doing this again, I promised myself.

Always the teacher at heart, I looked for the lesson. “What am I supposed to learn from this?” I thought. I came to some conclusions that gave me some solace, and I did my best to string together good days. ??

As the calendar turned to March, I went back on my promise. We began talking. Maybe instead of rushing into it like last time, we should all look for dogs together. Maybe instead of going with a rescue, perhaps we should start with a puppy we can grow with together. We were ready to try again. ?

We found Shawnee Goldens in Pennsylvania that had the most unbelievable looking golden retriever puppies. We all agreed this looked like our litter. We reached out to the breeder, and there were still six puppies available. After a family discussion, we decided to go for it! We sent the deposit; in two months, we would be picking up our new puppy.

As the spring progressed, hope progressed with it. The days counted down, and before you knew it, we were back out to Pennsylvania for another trip. We walked in for our appointment, and as we entered the front door, among the throng of ten puppies circling about, a puppy with a blue collar stopped playing and gave me a look. That’s our guy, I thought, not knowing if he was spoken for or not.

The breeder brought three male puppies over to the other side of the kitchen to greet us. They were all equally adorable. While the other two seemed most interested in tugging on our shirts and jumping about as most puppies do, the third one seemed content to simply sit in our laps. As I looked at the little treasure in my lap, it was the puppy with the blue collar.

We took home Gus, that day, and life has never been the same. He has been everything we could have ever hoped for, and far more!

Last January, it was hard to see anything but sadness and heartbreak. Now, I know better – what seemed to be a terrible mistake and a chapter we wanted to forget was simply an unexpected gift of something greater to come.

Life punches you in the gut sometimes. For our family, it was a pretty tough punch. After seeing the joy Gus has brought us in our lives, there is no question all the pain was worth it. I’ve committed to being more patient and avoiding labeling life’s curveballs as “bad” – and instead, choosing to see temporary setbacks as the vehicle to life’s next lesson and opportunity for something greater. ???

Today, we celebrate Gus’s 1st birthday. Happy Birthday, Gus – we look forward to many more happy memories with our “favorite son” – and are so blessed that life brought us this amazing gift!