Meeting a Special Lady on the Island — Knew of Her But Never Met Her

I had a Pekinese and wanted to breed her with a poodle because I had learned that they make a calmer and smaller dog. I searched the internet and wasn’t able to find the right poodle. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I heard there was a lady by the name of Irene about a mile from my house, and she had a male medium-size poodle. I mentioned it to someone who knew her, and she said Irene had thought about breeding him. So I looked up her phone number and called her. I wasn’t sure how she’d react because she didn’t know me personally, but I knew she was the wife of a former chief of police. Unsure of what to say, I simply introduced myself, “Hi, this is Debbie Lechmanski.” I figured she’d recognize the name. She responded, “Hi, how can I help you?” I explained about my Pekinese and how I believed breeding her with a poodle might calm her down.

She asked if I knew where she lived, and I said yes. She mentioned she was free, and I could come over right away, I arrived shortly, and she was outside with her dog. After introductions, when my dog went into heat, I called Irene. Upon reaching her yard, her dog, sensing my dog was in heat, was eager to approach. But there was a notable height difference between them. Irene proposed using a step stool to help, and it did. I continued to bring my dog over daily for five days until her heat cycle was over. Later, I took her for an x-ray at the vet’s. She had gained weight, and while the vet suggested it might be a false pregnancy, it turned out it wasn’t. I called Irene to update her about the prospective four puppies.

This was set to be my second litter from different mothers. I always felt better having someone with me during the delivery. A friend had previously offered to assist, which I welcomed. When the time came, I rang her up, and she was by my side promptly. Given their size, smaller dogs sometimes need delivery assistance. I had already garnered interest for these puppies. A family that had adopted two from a previous litter inquired again. They initially wanted one but ended up taking two.

I ended up keeping one of the puppies, which I was planning on from the start. I took a lot of pictures to bring over to show Irene her “grandchildren.” I did this every few days until they were old enough to take over to her. In the time waiting for the puppies to come, I would go over and tell her how my dog was, and we developed a great friendship. We never got the dogs together again, but I found a friend in mating my dog with hers.

When we got together, she told me that Cappy was a diabetic-alert dog; they call them “sugar dogs.” He has saved Irene’s life many times, and it turned out that the dog I kept also could detect when someone’s sugar was low. Both of the dogs sensed it naturally. They can train them, but they sensed it naturally. Irene took Cappy around, telling people about the Sugar Dog Foundation.

I went to a wedding in New Hampshire. She had a friend who worked on the Mount Washington rails. When we went up to get on the train, he had set up free passes for us, and we got the royal treatment. That wasn’t something we had planned on, but it was a treat. It was amazing to go to the mountaintop. It was summer, and there was still a spot on the mountain that had snow all year long. They told us when it gets down to a small amount, it falls, and the snow starts to accumulate again. The day we went, there were clouds in the area. When we got off the train and looked over into the town, we were above the clouds. I touched the flag that marked the summit, the highest elevation. We took the train back down, but there are trails where people walk up and down. This trip was memorable. Driving around reminded me of the winter I spent in Denver in 1977. After I graduated from high school, I drove out; and when the Rocky Mountains appeared, I knew I was getting close.

Irene and I hit it off right from the start. I went upstate with her a few times, and we always had a good time together. When we went off the island together, our first stop was McDonald’s to get a Mocha frap. Even when I would go off by myself, I would bring her back one. We did a lot together, and we still do as much as possible. Our friendship has never stopped growing. We both have looked back and said to each other, “How did we get here?” and we both say, “I don’t know.” She is a true friend and always will be. I try to stop over at her house every day, but sometimes I can’t make it over, though I try. I grew up not hearing “I love you,” so one day I asked my mom why. Mom said to me that they showed it but didn’t say it and that I should have known it. But it is nice to hear it. So when Irene would say “I love you” to me, I didn’t reply. Then I told her I wasn’t used to saying it. So she kept on working on me until finally I said it back, and I told her that it felt funny saying it, but I meant it. We are a few years apart, but that doesn’t seem to matter at all.