Ozzie ... a God send.

This is a pastel sketch ... for which I have absolutely no training. I am certain that to the trained artist this will appear technically off but I really like this sketch for it captures Ozzie's special look. He is, we think, part Schnauzer and who knows what else (about 20 pounds). These darling floppy ears often stand straight up on their own translating into jack-rabbit ear status especially when Oz is hopping around the yard chasing squirrels. Maybe he is a Jackanauzer. It's comical but it is not his floppy ears that made him so endearing to me but the feeling between us is quite mutual. You see, this is the stare that I get every single night. Oz plops down next to me and turns his head and just stares at me sometimes for longer than one or two minutes. I've never ever had an animal do that.

You see, returning from physical therapy six years ago, deeply weary of fighting to regain my mobility and ward off the effects of the worst surgery experiences of my life, I was returning home that autumn day when there on my porch was this little white puppy presenting himself before me at the front door as if waiting for me. He was all white and had a small black collar but no name.

Halley, our standard white poodle had to be put down recently so I just couldn't bear getting another pet plus I was too sick to take care of anyone or anything. It was a dark time for me.

This cute little thing looking up with those expressive eyes produced enough pity to offer him a drink for he looked like he needed some care and he was so eager. When I opened the door inside he dashed disappearing around the corner past the dining room. I couldn't see him anywhere. I called; nothing.

Too sick and full of pain to do anything about it, I closed the door behind me and yelled again for the puppy but he was no where to be found. My hospital bed had been moved into the morning room since the stairs were too difficult to manage everyday. As with so much of my life at this point, I just couldn't cope with the pup. "How much damage could the little thing do anyway," I thought. The pain medicine had made me drowsy so I laid down and soon surrendered to unconsciousness.

Who knows how much time had passed when finally I opened my eyes and before me sitting with his two front paws so perfectly aligned and still, the pup at first didn't look real. Our eyes locked and up he jumped onto my lap and into my heart when, as if recognizing what a hard time I was having he placed his muzzle on the side of my neck, collapsed flat on my chest (I'm not kidding), and with his paws literally hugged me.

I wept. Everything just gushed out of me. I had not known how much emotion was pent up inside. It had been a hard two years trying to regain my health and function. My career ended, my life seemed to be frozen in time.

It wasn't long before Ozzie was officially ours after putting out "lost dog" signs and no response thankfully. It would have been impossible to give him up for we were indeed attached to each other and soon Ozzie gave me a reason for getting out of bed.

He's a puppy, right? So every hour on the hour I would have to get out of bed and walk to the door back and forth to let him out to take care of his business. And it was Ozzie who loved to lounge in my lap and make me laugh with his antics. Finally, I taught him how to push open the door and close it all by himself. (Maybe I'll post that video if I can figure out how to do it.) And it was Ozzie who helped motivate me to take our first walks together. Soon, I began to recover and gain strength and I owe a lot of that to the little guy who was definitely one answer to prayer.

So it is with a lot of love that I enjoy sketching Ozzie boy who is truly a critter sent from God.