(Wo)man's Best Friend

I am not sure it is possible to completely trust someone who doesn’t love dogs.  Okay, I’ll be fair and say like dogs.  There is something very special about a person who understands the mind of a dog.  I’m not talking about being the Dog Whisperer, although he is pretty great, but for someone to understand a dog, their language, behavior, feelings and communication is truly unique.

I grew up with dogs.  There was never a time in my childhood when I didn’t have a dog.  As an adult, if I didn’t have a dog my life felt VERY empty.  As a single mom, I have always said that my boys and I are a package deal.  I consider my pooch (now pooches) part of the boys.  My dogs are very much a part of our family.  They have full run of the house, they ride in the car, they sit on my couches and sleep on my bed.  When you come to my house or ride in my car, NEVER wear black or any other dark colors.  If you ever come to visit, you will be greeted by wagging tails, loud barks and excited jumps.  Living with dogs (and some cats) I have grown very attached and feel a great love for my furry children.

If you are an animal lover and have ever had to put a pet down, you may understand the sorrow cuts far deeper that losing an animal naturally.  The first fuzzy family member I remember having to put down is my good buddy Jeffery, aka Loppy Dog.  He came to us via a friend who witnessed him being thrown from a truck.  The little guy stole my heart.  What a sweetheart.  He slept on my bed, followed me everywhere, played with me, comforted me when I was down and knew just when to perk up his ears and give me his cute face.  We had to put him down because he was having frequent and horribly violent seizures and we could no longer control them.  

The second fuzzy friend I had to lay to rest was a beautiful Staffordshire Terrier.  Zoe was abandoned and I would bet my left kidney that she was also severely abused.  She ran the neighborhood like a crazy pooch, she loved to run.  It was like watching poetry in motion when she ran.  She was finally pinched by the pooch police and I had to spring her from the clink.  I registered her under my name and from that point on, she was my baby.  What I didn’t know about this noodle-head was that she was a freaking Houdini!!  There wasn’t a gate, fence or door that could hold her.  Things began to change as Zoe became more aggressive and violent.  While she was in her “Red Zone” she turned and it me.  Two days later I put her down.  One rule I have always had about my dogs is that if they bite, they gone down...I never thought I would have to ever follow through.  My heart broke that day and ever since there has been a very lonely and dark place in my soul.  

The third fuzzy child I had to put down was my beloved Caesar...the first cat I ever had.  Understand, I am not a cat person or at least I wasn’t.  Then I met Caesar and he stole my heart.  As cats go, he was more canine than many dogs I have known.  We were together for 14 years: college, marriage, moving, dogs, divorce and finally liver failure.  I had to put my beloved friend down the day before my 36th birthday.  That was probably the toughest thing I have ever had to do, and this includes placing a child for adoption.  Thanks to my mom who helped me lay my friend to rest, I was able to make it through the day and begin my grieving process.  Caesar is placed at mom’s with all the other family pets, we have a regular pet cemetery and future anthropologists will have a lot to speculate, he is no longer in pain, he is forever beautiful and will always be in my heart.  

My point of these stories?  Only to share my love and show my respect to my fallen furry family members.  They have all touched my life in a way that no human ever could.    I feel that my life has been blessed because these creatures have been a part of my family.  I cannot imagine my life without the companionship of a pooch.  There is a tremendous amount of love that I have for my pets, both past and present.  I thank my parents for the gift of animals in my life.  For teaching me to love and respect animals and for showing me that animals are just as much a part of our family as the humans.