Married with dog

When I was twenty six, I met a guy at a bar. He asked me if I had a mountain bike, and I told him no, I had a dog. Apparently, that was a good answer. Phone numbers were exchanged, and within a week, we went on a proper dinner-and-a-movie date. 

Over the course of the evening, I talked a lot about the dog.

Of course, I did. She was the Best Dog Ever.

After the movie, I invited him to come meet Abbie. She had spent the weekend at Wonder Cave with my roommate, Debbie, but it was late and they should have been back at home.

They were not. 

That was really concerning. I more or less threw that guy out and spent the rest of the worrying. At 1 AM, I got a phone call from highway patrol. There had been an accident. The people had been taken by ambulance to a hospital, but the dog was loose on the highway. Could I please come get her?

I got in my car and drove east on I-40 until I saw flashing lights. I pulled onto the median and was immediately accosted by a cop. I told him who I was and why I was there. He turned on the radio and announced the dog owner is here. Abbie was nowhere to be seen , but when I called her name, she came flying out of the dark and jumped into my car. The cop got back on his radio and let everyone know the dog was safe.

The officers on scene didn't know which hospital Debbie had been taken  to. It took most of the night to find her. I drove her home in the morning. On the way, we stopped at the impound lot to retrieve her belongings from the car.

The movie Seth and I had seen the night before was Pulp Fiction. There's a scene where someone gets shot in a car, and let me tell you, the inside of the ruined car was almost as bloody.

None of the injuries were serious, but the next couple days were rough. I all but forgot about the mountain bike guy. Luckily, he didn't forget about me. We reconnected, and he finally got to meet my dog.

That guy - you've probably guessed his name was Seth - was working a seasonal job at a golf course in Memphis. At the end of summer, he moved back to Kansas. When my schedule took me to Missouri for the St Louis National Charity Show, he drove and spent a few days hanging out with Abbie and me.

While I was working, he took her for a walk around the showgrounds. He came back amazed at how many people had greeted Abbie by name. I smiled and said, "I told you she was famous."

In December, Seth moved back to Memphis.

The next couple of years were filled with big life events. 

In 1996, I quit my mobile tack shop job.

The next year, Seth and I got married.

After that, my dog was his dog, too.

He'd grown up with birds, not dogs, and there was an adjustment period.

Fortunately, they were able to bond over their shared love of outdoor activities.

The three of us went on a lot of hiking...

and camping trips in both Tennessee and Arkansas.

I knew she'd won him over when he started taking her on after hour visits to his very dog-unfriendly workplace.

In 1998, we moved to Denver. 

Seth and Abbie went on a lot of cross country ski trips. He bought her a set of snow boots, which she did not like. She much preferred placing her front paws on the back of his skis!

Life was just kind of chugging along.

Then in 2000, everything changed again.

To be continued.