A few weeks ago I was in Los Angeles on a family reconnection tour seeing relatives I had not seen during the pandemic.  I was speaking with my niece Megan and her husband Randy, and they shared an improbable story about a dog. Randy and Megan and their children had loved their dog, a miniature schnauzer, named Kelsie, that was a part of their family for 15 years.  That is a long life in dog years.  When Kelsie passed away, it was a big loss, and they mourned her.

She died just as the pandemic was setting in.  Pets became intensely popular during the pandemic.  Cute little puppies were in great demand.   Megan and her family would have wanted another dog to love, but given the great demand for puppies during the pandemic, they thought it would be a very long time until they had their new puppy.

Then one night something unexpected happens.  Megan is preparing dinner, getting ready to put chicken in the oven.  The phone rings.  It is her mother-in-law Helene who says to her:  If you want a really cute puppy, a Cavapoo, come to my house right now.  Off to her mother in law’s she goes.