It was the perfect setting--a beautiful log house on forty acres of land. We had a solid marriage; we even had the loyal family dog. All that was missing was kids. We had tried for many years to have childen, but it just never happened. So my husband, Al, and I applied to be foster parents. We decided we should start with an older child for a number of good reasons. Since we both worked, child care might be a problem. Corby, our springer spaniel--and our only "child" thus far--might be a bit too energetic for a young child to handle. And frankly, we novices were a little nervous about taking on an nfant. We sat back to wait the few months they thought it might take to get a school-age child--which was why we were floored when the agency called us within weeks, just before Christmas, and asked if we would take Kaleb, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, for a few months. It was an emergency, and he needed a home right away.

This wasn't what we had discussed so rationally a few weeks before. There were so many difficulties--it was such short notice, we had made holiday plans and most of all, the boy was a toddler! We went back and forth, and in the end, we just couldn't say no.

"It's only for a couple of months," my husband assured me. It would all work out, we told each other, but privately I was full of doubts.

The day was set for Kaleb to arrive. The car pulled up to our house and I saw Kaleb through the car window. The reality of the situation hit me and I felt my stomach tighten. "What are we doing? This child we didn't know anything about was coming to live with us. Were we really ready to take this on?" Glancing at my husband, I knew the same thoughts were going through his mind.

We went outside to greet our little guest. But before we could even reach the child, I heard a noise from behind me. Turning, I saw Corby tearing down the steps and heading straight for the little boy. In our hurry, we must not have closed the door completely. I gasped. Corby, in all her excitement, would frighten Kaleb--probably even knock him down. "Oh no," I thought, "what a way to start our first meeting! Kaleb will be so terrified he won't even want to go into the house with us. This whole thing's just not going to work out!"

Corby reached Kaleb before either of us could grab her. She bounded up to the boy and immediately began licking his face in a frenzy of joy. In response, this darling little boy threw his arms around the dog's neck and turned toward us. His face alight with ecstasy, he cried, "Can this be my dog?"

My eyes met my husband's and we stood there, smiling at each other. In that moment, our nervousness disappeared, and we knew everything would be just fine.

Kaleb came to stay those few months. Eight-and-a-half years later, he is still with us. Yes, we adopted Kaleb. He became our son, and Corby ... well, she couldn't have been happier. She turned out to be Kaleb's dog, after all.

IceBreaker/Diane Williamson
Photo/Hulton Getty/Liaison

back