Down to Earth

May 09, 2016

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Back in 2001 there was this movie with, Chris Rock, titled, Down To Earth. Chris Rock plays a man that dies before his time and these two angels bring him back to Earth but in another body. Whenever he looks in the mirror he sees himself and he sounds like himself but to everyone else he looks and sounds like the body that he’s in. Throughout the movie, he convinces his manager that it’s really him by doing and saying things only he knows him to do and say. I’m going somewhere with this so stay with me here…

About 4 weeks ago I showed up for an adoption event and as soon as I walked in I heard the girls talking about someone leaving an old and fat cocker spaniel in the back. He had no chip and no tag. He was found at a baseball field roaming around a few days before and like most strays, there weren’t many options for this guy. There were signs put up and he was all over social media and nobody had come forward. Well, as soon as I saw him I put a leash on him and we took him home
hoping his owners were looking for him. We knew he was old but not sure how old so we named him, Schmidt. As in, we don’t know how old he is he’s just “old as Schmidt.”

From the second I saw him, he did “Wally things”. His waddle, his armadillo butt, his “focus” on a tennis ball, the way he poked around at the trash can, pawing his empty bowl, his obsession with the bully sticks and even picking on Fletcher were not “just like” Wally but more on the lines of exactly how Wally did things. I thought I was crazy but everyone I know that was close to Wallelujah said the same thing. Physically, he looks nothing like him. And he’s definitely more mobile than Wally ever was but when I look into his eyes, I see my old man. Needless to say, I fell in love with this guy almost as soon as I met him.

When I brought him home, the dogs walked right passed him like he’d been there forever. Schmidt walked right in and made himself comfortable. There was no real introduction to the pack. It was almost as if they’ve already been introduced before. I know I may sound crazy to some of you and that’s ok because I felt crazy even thinking these things. Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe this is my way of dealing with not having him here but there’s something about his presence and his eyes that tells otherwise.

Even though I feel like someone is missing him, we have made him part of the family. And if the day comes when his original family finds him, I will have to let him go because I truly believe that wherever he came from he was extremely loved. So until that day comes, we will be his new family and we will treat him accordingly for as long as he’s with us.

But I just can’t help but think that he was looking for us all along. Welcome to the family, Schmidt.