Wilson's meet-and-greet...

Wilson (bottom) meeting Flash (top left) and Loretta (top right).

This past weekend, while I was covering Nashville Predators training camp at Centennial SportsPlex, Lynn brought Wilson out there to meet me. We were very excited and wanted to experience the event together.

Wilson was going to meet his (hopefully) forever family.

Across from the SportsPlex is Centennial Park, a perfect open area for a meet-and-greet. Unfortunately, the annual Mutt Strut event was going on and there were dogs everywhere. Luckily we were able to find a nice shady area that we could wait for Wilson's new family to meet us at.

Wilson enjoyed looking at all the other dogs pass by and watching all the people come by him and give him love. He met a nice lady who had just finished a GiGi Cupcake, a pit bull puppy who was being socialized and, best of all, two older bassets named Flash and Loretta.

Flash and Loretta were the two dogs of Wilson's (hopefully) new forever family. They were basset people, which we were ecstatic about. Not only did it mean our family shared a passion with theirs, but it meant they knew the breed. They knew that bassets drool. They knew that bassets are stubborn. They knew that bassets can be loud. So many of the reasons why bassets end up in shelters and rescue organizations weren't going to be an issue with this family. Why? Because they knew what they were getting into.

Even beyond that, they seemed to be great people. And they seemed to love their dogs even more. These were not young hounds. They were older dogs that were in their double-digit years. And they treated them like their kids. You could just feel the love coming from them and it was incredible to experience. In a way, it gave Lynn and I some hope for the future.

We never like talking about life after Jolene. Our souls ache when we think about Jolene growing old and eventually leaving us. So, to be able to feel that much love from a family toward their elderly hounds, words cannot describe how comforting it was.

Even if the arrangement to bring Wilson into their family doesn't work out, we'll always have that. And that's something we'll remember for a long long time.

Wilson waits for his (hopefully) forever family by taking in the Mutt Strut.