It's official.

Two parents.

Two kids.

Two cats.

One dog.

Something about that just wasn’t right.

It seems that to live in our home you must be part of a pair. Which means that something has been missing.

Until now.  Our family is feeling a little more complete these days since we’ve had Tucker join us.

We weren’t really looking for a second dog. We’d thought about it, but it was only a thought. Until Tucker found us. He was well loved by a family who, sadly, found themselves unable to care for him, so they set out to find him a new home. A strange twist of circumstances led him to us.

He’s a true beagle. Which means that all of Maggie’s qualities that drive us crazy are also Tucker’s. No off leash play for these pups. Once their noses hit the trail, they will not be interrupted. A squirrel, a bird, a bunny or a chipmunk and they’re off running. They rarely come when called. (Oh, unless you holler “treat” which is how we’ve found success.)

But for the one or two hours a day that we say “off Tucker”, “down Tucker”, “leave it Tucker” there are another 23 hours that he shows us the love. Big time. He’s a big slobbery mess. He’s a bed hog. But he’s the sweetest lug. After 2 1/2 weeks, I am able to appreciate just how hard it was for his family to say goodbye. And we feel very lucky to be with him now.

While it has taken some time for the cats to warm to the idea of yet another furry creature stealing our attention, Tucker and Maggie have discovered how much fun it is to have a partner in crime. They play together inside and out, they have figured out how to share their toys and their bones, they trade off who’s turn it is to bark at the neighbour’s dog and, whether they mean to or not, they drop enough fur between them to knit a third dog. But of everything, the thing that I love the most is that they share The Chair.

Maggie is a bit of a lazy butt. We come home at night and she feels put out that she has been wakened from her afternoon nap. It takes a couple of minutes before she strolls into the kitchen to meet us. Guard dog she is not.

Tucker, on the other hand, greets us at the door - tail wagging and whimpering with excitement. When I saw him pawing at the window the other day because Peter was home but not coming inside fast enough, I knew that was it. He had our hearts.

So, there you have it.

It was a crazy idea and there were a lot of reasons to keep our family just as it was. After all it was near perfect. But I wouldn’t change any of it. Things happen for a reason and this was a great thing.

Welcome home Tucker.