The Day Teddy Bear Jumped Into My Lap

A true story about a mystery dog, a bewildered homeowner, one very opinionated dachshund and an afternoon that most definitely did not go as I had planned.

A few weeks ago I was coming home from running errands...

I pulled into my garage, hit the button and watched the garage door start down. Then it stopped and went right back up.

Hmmmm.

I pressed the button again. This time it went down, so I turned off the engine and opened my car door.

And instantly found myself holding a dog.

Not my dog.

A dog!

A completely different dog...sitting in my lap as if we'd been best friends for years.

It was a completely surreal moment.

One moment I was alone and the next moment I wasn't.

“Well hello.”

The dog looked delighted.

I was confused.

Imagine if this was you.

There was no fear in either of us. Just a lot of love coming from this small fluffy stranger and a growing list of questions in my head.

Who are you?

Where did you come from?

What's your name?

And perhaps most importantly...

Now what?

Seriously, NOW WHAT?

Inside the house, Bunny, Scatter Joyfulness Greetings' Chief Cuddle Officer, was making her usual “Mom's home!” announcements.

What Bunny didn't know was that I appeared to have adopted another dog in the garage.

Without consulting her.

I suspected this news might not go over particularly well.

Mom brought home another dog?

We’ve never talked about this!

Traitor!

Those seemed like reasonable thoughts Bunny might be having.

I can tell you that I felt for her.

I opened the door and immediately there were questions, opinions and barking.

Meanwhile, little mister trotted through the house like a real estate agent giving himself a tour.

Then things took a turn.

A territorial turn.

A very enthusiastic territorial “boy” turn.

Suddenly I understood two things: this dog was not staying indoors, and I was apparently capable of moving much faster than I previously believed.

Out the patio door we flew.

Bunny followed.

Three seconds felt like an eternity.

My afternoon was no longer my afternoon.

Since there was absolutely no chance this little traveler was coming back inside, we settled into the backyard while I tried to figure out what to do next. It was cold and windy. Bunny found a warm sunny spot and kept a watchful eye on our visitor while the mystery dog explored every square inch of the yard as though he had personally purchased the property.

I offered water.

Not that he “needed” fluids but, I wanted to be sure he was cared for.

He wasn't interested.

I considered that a little bit of a blessing in disguise.

As I watched him race around, one thing became clear: this wasn't a neglected dog. He was clean, recently groomed, healthy, friendly and very obviously loved.

Somewhere, someone was probably looking for him.

I decided to take him to a local veterinarian to see if he was microchipped. On the way, I passed Bunny's groomer and thought...wait a minute.

He had clearly been groomed recently. Maybe someone there would recognize him?

Nobody did, but the wonderful staff immediately jumped into action. They called a veterinarian and arranged an appointment right away. One of the groomers even offered to keep him overnight and help post online if needed.

Off we went.

My passenger seemed perfectly content with the arrangement.

As you can see from the photo, he called shotgun.

We chatted all the way to the vet.

At the clinic we discovered he was microchipped.

What a relief.

Even better, there was a phone number attached to the registration, so I called immediately.

To my surprise, someone answered.

I don't know about you, but I rarely answer unknown numbers.

When the woman answered, I asked if she happened to be missing a furry family member.

She wasn't entirely sure what I was talking about.

So I explained my unusual garage experience and then asked where she lived.

I expected another town, county, miles away…

Instead, she named my city.

Then she named my street.

A neighbor I had yet to meet.

How wonderfully convenient.

She had recently moved from out of state.

At the time of our call she as hours away at an appointment.

No worries.

He was safe.

And apparently having a wonderful day.

It was during that conversation that I finally learned his name.

Teddy Bear.

Of course it was.

He looked exactly like a Teddy Bear.

For the next several hours, Bunny and I hosted our unexpected guest in the backyard. Bunny tolerated the arrangement.

Teddy Bear treated the afternoon like an all-inclusive vacation package.

He explored, ran and investigated absolutely everything.

Eventually his owner arrived and the two were happily reunited. I was grateful. She was grateful.

And Teddy Bear seemed quite pleased with how his day had unfolded.

A few days later I was driving through the neighborhood when I spotted Teddy Bear again.

This time he was with a different woman.

I rolled down my window.

“Good morning, Teddy Bear!”

Then I asked if she happened to be related to him.

She laughed.

“No. He was running around my yard and I'm trying to figure out where he belongs.”

Of course he was.

I pointed toward his house and shared a shortened version of our earlier encounter. She was grateful.

I was amused.

And Teddy Bear looked perfectly satisfied with the arrangement.

Apparently Teddy Bear had decided one neighbor wasn't enough. He was working his way through the neighborhood individually.

Several days later, while working on new card ideas, I found myself thinking about Teddy Bear again.

Not because he'd done anything extraordinary—quite the opposite. He was simply a happy little dog who wandered into my day, caused some chaos, made me laugh and reminded me how much I genuinely love dogs.

Not just Bunny. All dogs.

Even the crafty escape artists.

The artwork on the greeting card he eventually inspired was from a snapshot I took the day of his outing. Every time I see it I think about that cold afternoon...the kindness of strangers, one very relieved dog owner and a fluffy little adventurer who temporarily rearranged my plans.

Teddy Bear's surprise visit eventually inspired one of the greeting card designs you'll find in the Scatter Joyfulness collection. You can see him snuggling alongside his own teddy bear on the Well Loved Teddy Bear & Puppy Thinking of You Card.

Where will you scatter joyfulness today?