Last night a sweet golden retreiver turned up on our porch. He was older and seriously just about the sweetest dog ever. Sophie dubbed him "Cosmo" and we let him settle in for the night. I called a vet to arrange to have him scanned for a microchip and made a flyer to post the next morning. Cosmo is a cuddler with a fondness for stuffed animals. Not chewing them, just methodically carrying them out of the kid's room and lining them up in the living room. When I went to bed he jumped up on the bed, layed his head on the pillow and refused to move. I had a feeling he was not feeling very well and let him stay. Besides Rufus acting like a jealous boyfriend and the fact that I felt outnumbered, things went smoothly. This morning I posted flyers and just about 30 minutes ago his owner called. 'Cosmo' is really Lloyd and yesterday he was scheduled to be put down, but when his owner got home found out Lloyd had gotten out of the backyard. He has terminal cancer. I could tell he was sick, and even told my husband that I thought he didn't have long to live. (which is why my husband allowed him to sleep on the bed) Even though my gut told me this was the case, I still felt so sad to hear it. I looked into this loving dogs eyes and could tell he knew what was going to happen soon as well. I think he had his last hurrah at our crazy dog house and I am glad I let him sleep in the bed. I guess Lloyd just did what we would all do if we knew our days were numbered, go out and find one last adventure. I think I will paint a portrait of Lloyd today to look at and remind me that we need to go and make our adventures happen sometimes.