One of the home-improvement projects I've almost completed is the building of a screened-in back porch on our back deck. The courtyard between our garage and condo has been completely covered with decking since we moved here in '97, and there was a hot tub that we lost interest in after the first year or two. The hot tub has been removed and some of the decking, which gave me a couple of spaces for small flower gardens. It's not exactly like I visualized, but it's getting there.

Right after the work started on this project, I was awakened around 4:30 one morning by my dogs barking at some dogs outside, who were also barking. When I went to investigate, I found 2 dark brown Dachshunds on my front patio, along with their "pup tent" carrier, their food, their bed, and their toys. Who thought I needed two more dogs?

Niko Baron and Riko Aaron spent that day with me, and Gus and Jay-Jay got over their jealousy after a while. Even though their names were on their collars, there were no tags. I really wished I had the resources to accommodate them permanently, two of the cutest, smartest, sweetest dogs ever, but I didn't.

During the course of the day, I met two people who were interested in adopting them. The lady from the dentist office wanted only one of them, but I hated to split them up. They had already been separated from their people, I hated to separate them from each other. It was easy to see they had been playmates for a long time. The man who came to look at them said he would take them both. We had mutual friends who recommended him as an honorable dog lover, so I sent them home with him. And they were at his house for about a week when, I learned, he gave them to a friend. The Dachshunds did some damage to the man's house one day when they were left alone with his Golden Retriever. His wife said they had to go.

I'm still not sure what happened to Niko and Riko. I'm haunted by the thought that they may have not yet found a permanent home. I know people are struggling these days to keep their homes, and pay their bills, so I assumed they came from some unfortunate circumstances. I figured that someone knew I am a sucker for homeless animals. (The two dogs I have were adopted from the street and the two cats were adopted from shelters.)

If anyone out there knows where those adorable Dachshunds came from or where they are now, please tell me "the rest of the story." I've wondered and worried about them for almost a month now.