Best. Story. Ever. A Tail of Two Sisters

[Marni and Hanna]

Im sure many of us have a similar story, at least the first part.  The one where you are out for a walk with your dog, or at the dog park or maybe the  groomer,  and you see someone else with a doodle too (or whatever breed you both have) and you stop and exchange the usual pleasantries…”Oh cute doodle!”  “golden- or lab-?” “how old is yours?”  you smile and share a laugh about their antics and then eventually go on your way.

 

This story just happens to be a little different….

 I used to run regularly with my beagle and my cocker-mix and enjoyed many hikes and runs with them in the nearly 15 years we had together.  One of our favorites was always the local Humane Society’s annual 5k run/walk, which we participated in many times.  My beagle and my cocker-mix had both since moved on to the Rainbow Bridge, but I still enjoyed the annual fundraiser the last few times by myself when their old bodies couldn’t join me, and even once after they were gone.  But it just wasn’t the same.  The morning mountain air isn’t quite as fresh, the sunrises aren’t quite as peaceful and the miles always seem a little longer when you don’t have your four-legged buddy to share your early morning run with. 

 So now as our standard-sized goldendoodle Hanna hit the 1.5 year mark, I was hopeful to see if she would end up being a good running buddy like my last two dogs had been.  All early indications were positive in that she loved to run with a spring in her step and her leash training was going well, so I was really looking forward to starting some easy jogs.  I even felt like I may have “upgraded” a model or two with Hanna’s long legs and slim build compared to my short legged beagle and cocker!

 I planned on starting Hanna with short jogs later in the fall when she would be close to 2 years old, and the weather would be a lot cooler.  So when the annual race in early June of 2012 started out warm and sunny, it was fine as we were just planning on meeting up with an old friend and her standard poodle to walk the 5k anyways.  We enjoyed the 5k with hundreds of other dogs and their owners and walked around and looked at the 60+ vendor booths, getting our fill of free stuff and doggie treats.  I said goodbye to my friend and her dog and was just about to leave when Hanna and I ran into another couple and their doodle.  Yup, same storyline…. “goldendoodle?” “yes!”  “how old?” “oh, about a year-and-a-half” ”mine’s a year-and-a-half too!”  “What’s her name?”  “Stella” “cute!” “This is Hanna” 

 We marveled about how much they looked alike, same coat, color, and size.  I asked Stella’s mom where they got her, and she told me Stella was actually a rehome that they had rescued, but she had a little info from the original owner.  She mentioned the name of the small town the breeder was in, (the same small town where we got Hanna) at which time it slowly starts to click with me as I ask her…..”Do you know her birthday?”  and we both blurt out at the same time, “Jan 1^sT, 2011?!”  followed by many rounds of “OMG!”  They are sisters!”  “This is SO cool”  “I cant believe this !” “OMG!”

Meanwhile, the lady at the Humane Society booth that we were standing by (and unknowing to us had been listening to the whole exchange) shouts “What a great story!”  So we ask the lady for a pen and paper so we can exchange email and contact information. 

That summer continued with a flurry of emails back and forth, chatting about our doodles.  How much they were alike, and how they were different.  We shared some puppy pictures of Hanna so Stella’s mom and dad could see what she might have looked like as a pup, as they did not rescue her until she was 9 months old.  We were finally able to get our crazy summer schedules together and the girls enjoyed their first play date: (Hanna left, Stella right)

In the 2 + years since fate brought the sisters back together, we have shared our lives with our new friends.  We’ve shared accomplishments and victories, disappointments and struggles.   As Stella’s mom likes to say ”We’re family now.”  From playdates in the backyards, shared meals, Thanksgiving dinners (preceded by the local 4-mile Turkey Trot of course!) pictures with Santa, Superbowl parties, birthday parties, fall hikes and doggie sleepovers, the girls never tire of each other.  Sure, they each have other doggie friends and each enjoy a day every week at their respective doggie daycares, but the best part is how they get along so well.  Their mutual adoration for each other is obvious.  We always smile at the bass drum effect their tails have against the back seat of the car as either one gets within a block or two of the others house, as they know exactly where they are going, and who they are going to see.  They both run out of the house or car at a full sprint toward each other to share kisses as if they haven’t seen each other in ages, although its sometimes been as little as 3 days that they were apart.  I didn’t have a sister growing up, but I know that even as much as you love your siblings, you can still have your minor squabbles.  Not these two.  They never even get cranky with each other.  We’ve also learned you can’t say the other sisters name out loud, or Hanna will immediately  run to her front window, or Stella to her front door, both looking for the arrival of the other.

 

The girls celebrating their 3^rd birthday together: (Stella in blue tiara, Hanna in red tiara)

This summer, at the age of 3.5, the girls have been helping their moms train on long runs together.  Hanna and I make the weekly, short 12 mile drive to share a 6:30am run with Stella and her mom.   I’m not sure the girls know how much they are helping Stella’s mom train for her half-ironman triathlon in Oct, or me for my half-marathon in Nov., but I know they make the miles a lot more fun and a lot more enjoyable, and even though they won’t make the trips with us, I’m sure Ill still be able to see their wagging tails trotting along ahead of me as I run.       

 The Humane Society 5k remains an annual event on our calendars as important as any major holiday, and a shared fall hiking trip for the now-extended family to the mountains before the snow flies at the ski resorts is being planned as we speak.  The girls have a long weekend at each other’s to look forward to when their doggie parents are out of town,  when Hanna runs willy-nilly thru the prized garden in Stella’s backyard : O !, and Stella writes daily entries in her diary that get emailed to her mom and dad when they are away.  Two years later, hardly a week goes by that we  don’t have a playdate scheduled, a shared long run, or maybe a “family” dinner.  We check-in often, and know that whatever comes our way, we have our new family to share it with.

 

Stella (left) and Hanna (right) holding paws at Hanna’s house during a recent sleepover:

So Hanna and her other mom and I were at a backyard bbq  last weekend as the conversation turned to the week ahead.  We mentioned that Hanna had a playdate scheduled with her sister the next day.  Our friends thought that was so cute that she gets together with her sister for playdates.  They always seem to ask how we found her sister, and I’m always glad to launch into one of my favorite narratives as I begin, “Haven't I told you that one?  It’s the Best. Story. Ever…………

[F, Calla & Luca]

It iss one of the best stories ever. Many of us at DK have made friends here too.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I love this story.  What a special bond for you and Hanna to share.  

[Kylee]

I just love this story! They are so cute together, and you can tell how much they love each other!