The Party Crasher

This weekend we were blessed with being invited to two gatherings--quite rare for us. We were glad they were on separate days so that we did not have to chose between them and were honored that we were included in the festivities.

One was an anniversary party and we only knew six people, four of whom we hadn't seen in many, many years. The other party we only knew two people. It is fun making new acquaintances and discovering common bonds that unite us. One person we met today knew our next door neighbor. Yes, it is a small world.

At the anniversary party we experienced an unusual phenomenon. We had heard of it before but never saw it first hand. There was a party crasher. He blended in as if he knew everyone. He even tried to make acquaintances with everyone there. I wondered if perhaps he was confused and came to the wrong party--just following the posted balloons. He nearly begged for the food and took anything anyone offered him--often gobbling it down. At times he was in the middle of everything, not caring one bit that he was not invited. Ironically almost everyone liked him and talked to him--he had an animal magnetism that made him the center of attention.

I finally had to ask the hostess about him. Turns out he lived two houses down and she did not even think that his family knew that he did this, but she said that he did this often. In fact he practically lived there.

Okay, enough teasing you--he was the neighbor's lovable black lab. He got along with their little dog and came to hang out there. The hostess wasn't even sure if the neighbor knew when the lab was gone for the day that he was at their house. Fortunately they loved dogs and giving him attention and treats would certainly make him come back. He was one lucky dog to have two homes and he was one likeable party crasher.