Furry Friends - The importance of pets

While Chris has been away, I have found myself paying a lot more attention to Dizzy. And he has been paying a lot more attention to me, I guess he is getting his normal love quota completely off me and Jonathan now.   Previous to our trip overseas, Dizzy was spending all day with Chris, helping with the yard work, the housework and getting lots of treats and tickles under the chin, all day!

He has been giving me the shits of a morning though, as he wakes up so early on the weekends.  I would like to have a sleep in, even if my back is killing me and I HAVE to get out of bed.  That is completely beside the point - I want to decide when I get out of bed. Oh I have just realised, Dizzy probably feels the same way - HA HA HA
Having said that, I would not be without him, just look at that little face, guarding his blankie for all he is worth!

Anyway, the point to my story and I do have one - how do people living alone cope without a pet? Who do they talk to?*  Who gives them a cuddle on the couch while watching TV?  Who greets them at the top of the stairs, happy to see them at the end of the day? Pets can give you such comfort and all that unconditional love.

When our last little dog, Max, died, to say I was devastated by his loss is an understatement. He had been part of our lives for thirteen years and we had been through so much with that little dog.  He had been our comfort and our joy; he had played with the kids and Max had given us years of faithful puppy love. 

In August 1998, our mother had recently passed away and our sister, Julie, was gravely ill. It was a terrible time. Then at this same time, our little Max got hit by a car and just ran off.  We don't know why he ran away, may have been chasing the car that hit him; not sure but he was missing for two or three days.  I felt as though I couldn't cope!  
There was just too much happening. Danika and Emily were both very sick and I was taking Emily to the doctor every day.  In the end the doctor told me to take her to the hospital and not leave until they admitted her, strong directions for a seven year old. I was beside myself with worry for the kids, grief for my mother,worry for my father,  dread for the what the whole family had yet to go through and overwhelming sadness for our sister Julie and her family. And then to top it off, where was Max?  It makes me weep now just the memory of those awful weeks.  But as Fonz said, "Kathy, you  have to cope, what is your option?"
In other words pull 'yourself together girl, people need you' - my family needed me.

I prayed to God, I said "I know that we are going to lose our beautiful Julie but can you please send Max home, I need some hope." I don't know why I clung to that, but God answered my prayer.  At 4 a.m. one morning, Max was scratching at the back door, near Danika's bedroom window. Danika, still sick herself, got out of bed to let him in.  We heard the yapping and excitement, got out of bed and we were all so happy to see him.  I can still see us all,  crouched on the family room floor gathered around Max.
Thank God, Max was home.  Bedraggled, covered in blackberry twigs, dirty, hungry and thirsty but home. 

I think Max coming home was a promise that we were all going to be OK. Life is brutal at times and I know we are more blessed than a lot of people, but at that time, life was pretty brutal to our family. But in the midst of it all, there was a little miracle - our little dog had found his way home.  We had a reason to be happy for a few short days.  It's funny how much I associate Max with that time in our lives.

Oh gosh, this post has gone so far from where I started and what I had in mind but somehow the story has written itself. 

The segway, I guess is how much I loved that little dog and how much a dog can mean to a family or an individual.  Chris and I got Max as a puppy when we were first married, he was our Love Pup! We did not have children together and intended not to, so Max was our little "bonder".  When he died, I could not get over how much I missed him and how much I had loved him.  Pets can become such an integral part of our lives, they can become such a comfort and we can find ourselves loving them so much without realising it.  It is quite amazing that little furry friends can enrich our lives so much.  I cant understand people having pets that they don't care for. (another story) 
I swore that we would not get another dog, as I didn't want to go through that again.  But two years later, Danika and I are in the car heading off to Spreyton to pick Dizzy up from the RSPCA.  That's another story for another time ! 

The crux of this story though is, who would I talk to now when I am here by myself if Dizzy wasn't here? I mean, who do people living alone talk to?  Dizzy and I have some in depth conversations, well that could be an exaggeration, but we do talk. One sided conversations but I know he is listening intently, just in case I say "food" or "walk". 

One day, I will tell you the story of Rosie and Basil. This post may not seem to have a lot to do with "The Move", but as I ruminate about the importance of pets, I am thinking about how lonely I would be without Chris if Dizz was not here. I had better get off the Maudlin Chair and start the day, it's sunny out there, let's do something! 

*Jonathan is away for the weekend - at other times he is here with me, of course  :) and then I talk to him!