It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Here's the story.
Twelve years ago—it was a Saturday afternoon, 23 March 2013—my husband, Bob, called me. I was in the shop on Hudson Street. "Can you come to see a puppy I found?" He was in a different shop, on Christopher Street, a couple of blocks away. He had just found a delightful little apricot Miniature Poodle. We had casually discussed expanding our family (with a dog), but had taken no concrete steps to make it happen. I left the store in the capable hands of two employees and rushed over to the shop. I, too, fell-in-love.
Not wanting to be rash, I suggested we put the little pup "on hold" overnight—that we might "sleep on it" (the purchase decision, not the puppy). Bob agreed; he went home, I went back to the shop.
A couple of hours later, Bob called: his father, in Pittsburgh, had just died.
The next morning, Sunday, on the way to the Avis car rental garage (and onwards to Pittsburgh), we stopped-by the puppy shop to explain our situation to the shop owner. She told us that he was very popular and that she could not hold him any longer. We were in no position to take him that day. So we said goodbye to the little dreamboat, knowing that he would likely go home with someone else.
When we returned to the city, Thursday night, we went down to the puppy shop but it was closed for the night. All the pups had been taken out of the front windows and placed in crates at the back of the darkened store. We couldn't tell if our little boy was still around.
We went back the next morning—Good Friday—and there he was! Like a flash, out came the Amex card! We named him Benji, which had been the nickname for Bob's late father. We arranged to pick-him-up in two days, Easter Sunday.
Benji was born on this day, 4 January 2013.
Most days, Benji stayed home with Bob, a stage designer who worked in his studio in our Chelsea apartment. Bob credits Benji with helping him to get through the first year of losing his father—with Benji lying in his bed, at Bob's feet, under the draughting table. When Bob was traveling, Benji came to the shop with me. On those days, he (mostly) slept in a crate behind the cash wrap. Occasionally, he would perk-up when he heard the front door's bell tinkle. And we would take frequent walks around the block (down Hudson, right on Charles, right on Perry, right on Hudson and run-run-run back to the shop!). Benji always knew his way right to the shop door.
Today, Benji is twelve. In some ways he has slowed-down. But, when he comes to life, he is the same playful puppy we found on Christopher Street. And he fills our hearts with more love every day. Bless you, Benji!
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.