And that’s how our tail - I mean
tale - of welcoming Mocha into our family begins: never meeting a stranger. Sophia
comes in the back door one cold, January night with a friend and the most adorable
four-legged critter we had ever seen. With a wrinkly nose and big paws, the
tiny puppy wagged her tail as she bounced from person to person begging for
attention. It was apparent this dog was well-loved but
yearned for continual attention of human interaction.
The story told by Sophia and her
friend Jada was they found this black-as-soot dog walking down the center of
the dirt road in the dark of night. It was late on Thursday and of course we
could not send her back out to fend for herself from the coyotes and weather. I
knew something was awry, continually questioning the true origin of this
boundless, energetic pup, but the girls - looking dead into my eyes - spoke
with authority as if they were speaking the absolute truth.
But moms usually know when lies
role off the tongues of their young, and this was one of those times. We kept
the puppy overnight with Sophia understanding she was going to have to find the
rightful home of this dog. When efforts to post on social media and calling
around to the veterinarians was not a priority, it simply confirmed my
suspicion that my adorable daughter was a liar!
After not sleeping well for two
nights, I was hoping Sophia would come clean with the truth. Matthew, during a
car ride to the Davies, was adamant with Sophia that she should tell us the
truth. Upon their return that Sunday afternoon, Sophia turned to Richard and me with alligator tears and puppy dog eyes, grabbed our
hands in hers and came clean. She said she was sorry for lying to us, and she told
us that Mocha was Jada’s dog and she needed a new home.
This relationship that started in
deceit has grown into quite a love affair.
We adopted Mocha into our family,
but Sophia’s punishment for lying was she now was financially responsible for
the beginning vet bills and paying for Mocha to get spayed. While undergoing
surgery to not have puppies, the wonderful workers at Quailwood contacted
Sophia to see if Mocha needed her eye lids clipped while she was under
anesthesia. Being part Shar-Pai, Mocha had battled eye issues and anyone who
has tried to give a dog eye drops knows it is not pleasurable. That day Mocha received
an eyelid job. I still can’t quite come to grips with how this dog could have
plastic surgery before I do.
While the children were young, I
could hardly keep up with cleaning after them; no way were animals coming into the
home to make more of a mess. Unless it was an iguana or guinea pig in a cage, I
was not interested with inside pets. Through they years, our animals' time inside had increased, but Sophia was well aware that no pets were allowed on the
bed.
I went to her room one day with
Mocha walking close behind me. I stopped just passed the door to ask Sophia,
who was reclining on her bed, a question. Mocha did not slow down at the door
but trotted around the bed and in a single bound leapt up on the bed. Sophia’s
eyes widened as if she’d been caught yet again. It was apparent Mocha had
mastered this move long before that day.
Mocha has now grown into her
paws, still has the cutest wrinkly nose, and is powerful enough to bound over
rows of cotton in a single leap. She goes on adventures with our other
geriatric dog Rosie, coming back after many hours or several days. Mocha often
times ditches Rosie to venture further than Rosie is comfortable with and
recently took a week-long adventure having me rethinking the quality of current
restraint measures. After a long day of fun, she also nestles in nightly on her
Serta dog mattress in the family room, snoring with great contentment.
Spoiled? Maybe. Well….yes. She and her bestie Smudge,
Sophia’s cat, are now like my Grands. I know it sounds silly, but they are the
closest things I will ever have to “children” of Sophia. Here’s hoping both of
them have nine lives!
*Pictured above are Mocha and Sophia on their journey to Pensacola to visit cousins Jessie, Andy and lab Vadar.
