A dog gets involved

For the last three years, the 84-year-old woman who owns our new place has shared her life with a Shih Tzu she calls "Lil Mac" -- a bundle of energy, friendly and eager to please.

Sadly, she can't take Lil Mac with her when she moves into a small apartment later this week. She'd asked us if we'd be willing to adopt him, but since we already have two shaggy little toys of our own (albeit tracing their heritage to a different Communist country), we proposed another arrangement.

We knew that my wife's best friend from childhood was looking for a dog fitting Lil Mac's description, so we set up an interview late yesterday afternoon. To make an hour-long story shorter, it turned out to be a perfect match.

It wrenched our hearts to watch the old woman let go of her constant companion, drawing tears from all of us. Lil Mac, for his part, bounced and pounced and pranced in the driveway -- he just wanted to go for a ride in the car.

This morning I'm pleased to report that both dog and new master are doing fine. For us, the deed added yet another rich layer of goodwill to our experience.

It's feeling more like coming home every day.