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It was Sunday morning. We were in the mood for brunch, so we went to a restaurant called 1885.

1885 has indoor and outdoor seating. One section of the outdoor seating runs along one side of the bar. We sat there so we could chat with our favorite bartender, Daniel.

We were not there long when a couple of folks sat down beside us. Turns out they are brother and sister, from Nashville. They drove to Chattanooga to pick up a new puppy from a breeder. They decided to have a bite to eat before they headed back to Nashville.

My eyes popped when I saw a cute little puppy in the arms of the woman. He was wriggling around but he was not crying so he seemed to be okay.

We started to talk and it seemed like everyone in the restaurant was getting up to come over and take a peek at the puppy. He was a 7- week old Corgi. He doesn’t really look like a Corgy yet, but he does have the unmistakable short legs.

Puppy kept wriggling and people kept cooing over him.

At one point it seemed logical for me to ask this question. “Since you are going to be eating would you like me to hold the puppy so you can eat in peace?” The young woman loved the idea. She felt she could trust me.

The active puppy was a bundle to handle. The woman was wishing he would settle down and go to sleep. She thought he should be tired. My thought was that he was on sensory overload. He had just been taken from his mom and his fellow litter mates so how could he be calm? But I didn’t say anything.

The food was about to arrive, so I was getting ready to hold the puppy. I leaned over to the gentleman and I said, “Before you hand me the puppy I want you to know I am known as a baby-whisperer. Experience shows if you hand me a baby it will be asleep in my arms in less than five minutes.”

The food arrived.

They handed the puppy over to me. I had no experience putting puppy babies to sleep but I thought I’d employ my “magic”. I cuddled him into my arms and stroked him gently. What you see in the picture is the result. In less than five minutes he was sound asleep in my arms. The young woman had no trouble eating her lunch in peace. The puppy was in good hands. My hands.

That’s pretty much the end of the story.

When she finished eating I handed her back her new, darling puppy. The new puppy parents crated him up for the 2-hour drive to Nashville.

I have been thinking about the puppy fairly often; wondering if he’s settled into this new home. I know the young woman was excited to get her new puppy; he was all she could talk about. So let’s hope the puppy is happy; as happy as he was sleeping in my arms.

Cheers!