About five years ago I persuaded my wife, then girlfriend to take a ride out east to visit a shelter for dogs. I always make it seem like we are just going to LOOK, yet we always end up leaving with exactly what I set my mind to get...In this case it was a BENTLEY. This Bentley does not have 4 wheels and a shiny exterior rather this one has 4 legs and a furry exterior. When we pulled up to the shelter we had it in our minds to just simply look at the puppies and see if one catches our eyes. We had to walk through all the older unwanted dogs in order to get to the puppies and it was then when my eyes set upon what would be my true first child. As soon as I look at this dog which seriously looks like a cartoon character with his over sized head, short legs, and huge paws I knew this was the misfit that I would have to adopt. At first my wife wanted to keep looking but this dogs eyes would not let go of my heart and I was sold. The dog was 2 years old and was a mix of lab, basset hound, and pit bull . This dogs appearence was as priceless as a brand new Bentley and so it was only fitting that Bentley was to be his name. We had to wait a few days to pick him up and my now wife was very sceptical of the arrival of our first child, but I knew this dog was special and he needed us to be his parents. Within a month Bentley became what my wife calls " Gods version of heaven on earth" she immediately fell in love just as I did with this perfect animal. It was like he knew we saved him and from the minute we picked him up he vowed to be be loving, loyal, and to keep us together as a family with every lick of his over sized tongue. The truth is it was this dog that saved my relationship with my now wife. About 2 months after the arrival of our child my now wife had began to face some difficult issues which led us to separate for a while. We decided to live in different places and take some time a part to reflect and think about our futures together. Bentley would stay with me and my wife would stop by from time to time to help out and doggy sit when I had to travel on business. The truth is time to time became weekends, and sometimes during the week my wife quite simply could not stand to be away from the dog. After a few months our mutual love for this dog actually brought us closer together and with time my wife and I fell in love all over again...all because of a dog refusing to loose another family. Within a year I proposed to my wife and our family would finally be complete and our dog was the most important thing in our lives and everyone knew it. The truth is this dog gives us his unconditional love and our biggest fear is the day when god decides to take his little piece of heaven back. I remember going to see the movie "Marley and Me" and in the theater my wife and I SOBBED uncontrollably for the entire last half hour of the movie, because we just thought of the day that Marley would be Bentley.
My wife is now 18 weeks pregnant and quite honestly if it wasn't for this dog with an over sized head and heart we never would have had this amazing gift of a baby which would truly complete this perfect family. I say my dog is my first child and I mean that, but I am so happy that my first baby will have the opportunity to grow up with Bentley as her first dog. My baby will know the reason why her mother and father's love was reconnected by a dog who refused to let us drift a part. She will know that Bentley set into motion the events that would help bring her into this world. Some may think my wife and I are a little bit strange because of how much we love our dog, but with that being said I can only imagine how much our hearts will grow the day we get to meet our baby. I can't wait to introduce NOEL to her dog BENTLEY, by the way did I mention I am going to have a baby girl? whats more perfect then a Boy and a Girl , even if the boy has 4 legs and a big head. I will always be in debt to this misfit of a dog for bringing my family back to me. Maybe he was sent from the heavens to help me my wife work out our issues because with his love we found ours again...and it was that love that created our little girl. So call it what you want, but as for me and my wife we truly do believe he is nothing short of a piece of heaven on earth...besides who wouldn't want a BENTLEY?
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