Puppy Love

Puppy Love

Finding an Online Match at Long Last

After my disappointing experiment with Chemistry.com, one would think I’d steer clear of online meeting sites, but I have to admit it wasn’t too long before I went slinking back to the Internet, looking for love.

And out of the blue, there he was, staring me right in the face. I was intrigued by his picture — handsome, yet somehow vulnerable. His profile tugged at my heart: A southern gentleman, he had some issues: uncertain parentage, health problems, excessive shyness, fears of abandonment; but nothing that the love of a good woman couldn’t resolve. Did I say I’m a sucker for a pretty face?

We communicated through a third party until we decided to meet, face to face. The Jersey Shore is a little out of my dating range, but I decided to make an exception for this guy, and on an unremittingly gloomy day, I braved the Tappan Zee bridge traffic and headed south on the Garden State Parkway. I was as nervous as a schoolgirl as I approached the house two hours later; I knocked tentatively on the screen door.

And there he was, at the top of the stairs, eyeing me intently with those soulful brown eyes, even more gorgeous in person than his pictures. He barked once, then scampered down to meet me. Within a minute, he had his head in my lap, looking totally blissed out. Shy guy, my eye.

As we got to know each other, his foster mom told me his story.  This handsome golden retriever collie mix was dropped off at a shelter in Mississippi when he was one year old. He was quickly adopted, but returned a few months later for “behavior” problems along with heartworms and tapeworms.

Enter the angels from Sunshine Golden Rescue, volunteers who pluck goldens (or golden-esques) from kill shelters in the south and create a kind of doggie underground railroad to herd them up north to foster families and ultimately to their forever homes. They get them healthy, teach basic manners, and get to know the dogs well enough to make a perfect match, which they did for me, way better than eHarmony, Match.com or Chemistry.com.

And now, two months later, I am totally besotted, head over heels in love with this guy. How could I not be? He loves to snuggle, hangs on my every word, is crazy happy to see me even when I’m only gone for 10 minutes, never whines or complains — he’s just about the perfect male. Okay, so he does leave dirty socks around the house. I can live with that. I have lived with that.

And best of all, he’s not stingy with his affections, and shares his love with my daughters as if they were his own. (Actually, I think he considers them littermates as he tussles with them, herding them, nibbling their fingers and toes.) Curled up in bed, completely covered with dog, my youngest daughter sighs happily: “Finally, a boy who won’t break my heart.”

And they call it puppy love.