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“All I ever wanted was a Golden Retriever…” she said to me a few months ago.

This came as news to me. We’ve had beagles since 1997.

“What? Since when?”

Her: “Since always. I just love them.”

The vet clinic she works at had a Golden that needed a home a few weeks ago. I told her that he was still there Monday, we could think about it.

It wasn’t.

Last week, a friend of ours told her about a Golden that he had rescued after it was abandoned. At the end of the story, he said that had just found a home for it.

He called yesterday when she was at work, to tell me that the adoption had fallen through.

The dog gets along fine with dogs, but he apparently doesn’t like goats, and the woman who took him lived on a farm and had goats.

We don’t have goats.

“Are you still interested?” he asked.

Well, I decided that it was time for an early Christmas present surprise, so I said that yes, we were interested. She was going to be out late last night because she had to work and then take an exam, but I’d show her today.

This afternoon I took her with me in the car, and left The Boy and MomOfWOTJ behind at my office. I just told her I needed her help with something and we got in the car.

I drove down one street and then suddenly turned and went “Wait, this isn’t where I wanted to go…”

Then I drove past the vet about a half-mile, and turned around again.

“Wait, I think I missed it.”

I drove back to the vet, and then pulled into the parking lot. I asked her where some local business was.

She told me.

Me: “Huh… why did I think it was here? Well, maybe they can help me…”

I went in and told them that I was here for the Golden, and that it was a surprise for my wife, could they bring him out. She did.

I went back to the car and told her I was confused and needed her help again inside.

She said afterwards that she was thoroughly confused because it wasn’t our vet’s office (which is down the street). But as soon as she saw him she started making these little “Oh!” noises.

“Oh!” (hand over her mouth) “I…” (pointing at the dog) “Oh…” (looking at me): “I CAN HAZ?!”

We’ll have plenty of pictures of him later, but I think this one captured the look on her face the best.

Everyone, I’d like you to meet:

Noah “Doofus” Luoma

Ps - last night when we were all home and I was the only one who knew the secret, MomOfWOTJ said “I saw a goat across the lake today… I wonder where it came from.” Seriously, 8 years we’ve lived here and I’ve never seen a goat, and the farm nearby is a cattle farm, so I have no idea where the goat came from, but I hope it found its way home.