Our vet told Ben that he won the lottery when he landed in the Lehman household. What he failed to mention was that we--Ralph, Elaine, and our Molly girl--won the lottery as well.

Truly, it is nearly impossible to describe the effect that Ben has had on us all (that includes our Ms. Molly). Since our Standard Mona died in January, Molly had been extremely depressed, rarely doing anything more than lying around and gobbling her food. Nothing we tried could get her excited or even offering the appearance of happiness. Both of us had a hard time as well, tearing up at the mention of Mona's name. It was a very sad time in the Lehman household.

Then Mr. Ben arrived. Molly, who was never very keen on dealing with other dogs, decided within days of his arrival that Ben was going to be better then okay. Since then their love affair has grown and grown. The two of them are almost always together and with us. Both follow us wherever we go. As a result we are now members of a legitimate foursome! And Molly rarely spends a waking moment without her tail wagging furiously!

As for Ben, there are no words to describe what a fabulous creature he is. Ben is now nine years old yet appears to be perhaps five. He runs like the wind, leaps into the back seat of our pickup as though it's a toy, thinks nothing of jumping up onto our backyard deck as though it didn't have any stairs, and always flies the length of our driveway after a walk in order to get back to his home as fast as possible.

He is incredibly affectionate, many times during the day just walking over to one of us and resting his head in our lap. He is obedient, very, very smart, gentle, and . . . well, you get it. Pile on all the adjectives that one thinks should be used in describing the perfect dog and Ben absolutely fits almost all of them.

His nights are spent sleeping at the foot of our bed. When morning arrives he greets us as though he hasn't seen us in weeks. Whatever shell he might have been in when he first arrived has vanished. Ben will now woof when he wants something, or when he get excited. It's a joyful woof, and the smile on his face and the happiness he exudes is heartwarming beyond words. Yes. Ben is the perfect dog. And Ms. Molly is not far behind, if at all.

For us it feels as though Ben has been here for years. We both really can't imagine loving him more than we already do. We two talk a lot with each other about all sorts of things -- what's going on in the world, with our family, with our friends, what the future may hold and many less important but interesting things. But the dominant subject is far and away Molly and Ben, and the joy they bring to us. Two rescues who have had some rough times in their lives have rewarded us for choosing them, not knowing that nothing in life could have been a greater reward. Truly, we have won the most important lottery there could be. A lottery win that brings a never ending abundance of unconditional love. What more could anyone ever want?