Tapanga

I ran a race this morning. A race I have run the past two years. A race I have traditionally done well in. With that, I had high hopes. Besides the high hopes, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself because some parents and teachers from my school were running. I had to beat them; beat them all!

I did. I beat every last one of them. I had a personal best time at the race, 20:35. I placed second overall for women and first in my age group. After the race, as I spread the word of my success to Jeff and my father, I was asked some diminishing questions. Was the course really 3.1 miles? Do you think the time was accurate? Did they use timing chips? Was the course completely downhill? What crap is that? I ran hard and got a good time. Yes it was 3.1 miles, the timing was accurate, and we had to climb a pretty significant hill. And still, I finished in 20:35.

As I walked back to my car after the race, I was walking down a very busy road. I noticed a little dog roaming on and off the sidewalk, getting dangerously close to traffic. Much too close for my liking. As I scanned the street, there was not a soul in sight. Knowing what I would want someone to do if they saw Shea wondering by himself near a busy street, I went over and grabbed the dog. No collar, no tags, no anything. I asked the first person I knew if they lived in the area and recognized the dog. No go. He suggested bringing the dog to the police station which was just around the corner. I took his advice.

The police proceeded to tell me that they could be of no assistance. Wow, shocker! This particular police department is actually in the news more for committing crimes than actually preventing them. Why should they help me do something that would help anybody or anything?

I decided that I needed to bring the dog to the animal shelter. That is probably where the owners would look for this little girl. So, over to the animal shelter we went. On the way I took her picture and sent it to Jeff, his brother, Jon, and my brother, Nick. I asked if anyone wanted her before I gave her to the shelter.

Nick responded with a yes. He wanted her to come up to the house. He wanted to see her and see if she would be good for his first dog. Jon, who already has my nephew puppy, Diggy, has wanted to get Dig a playmate, preferably a female. A big Boy Meets World Fan, Jon wants to name his female dog Tapanga. So, Jon's reply was simply TAPANGA! Jeff's was quite different. He was flustered that I let a random dog in the car. However, he agrees, after a week in stray hold, if Tapanga is not claimed by her owners, we will adopt her. Someone, whether it is Nick, Jon, or Jeff and I, will take Tapanga.