I must take a moment or two to recognize a few members of our family who have always given and never asked for that much in return. My next blessing MUST be the family animals. In our time together Dave and I have had several and they all have contributed to our lives in different ways. My first dog had an attitude problem that is hard to actually accurately convey. She was a menace, but OH GOD how I loved her. Aneva was a family Christmas gift when I was 12. We all went and picked her out from the tumbling group of puppies at our feet. There were a bunch of them... and we ended up with Aneva. She spent the first night in our house crying ALL night long... and not long after that she started sleeping with me. She was a terror. In her time she destroyed more than any person could believe that ONE dog could. She took out our furnace when I was 21. My parents had to buy a new one. She became my dog very very quickly. We would walk for hours when she was young. It always started out with her dragging me down the road... and the walk always ended with me dragging her back up the road because she had exhausted herself pulling on the leash. She had a bed time and was very clear that she wanted to sleep... when it was time she would go into my bedroom and she would look out at me, if I didn't follow her she would grunt audibly and then she would hit the door with her nose really hard, in effect slamming the door closed. She was the biggest brat I have ever met. And I loved that about her. For every time that she would infuriate me she would make me laugh. For as naughty as she was she loved twice as much. She was a dog of all dogs.
When I moved in with Dave I had to leave Aneva at my parents house. There were several reasons, but it broke my heart. Dave thoughtful man that he is tried to make that better by getting me a cat for Christmas. We went to the pet store to pick out the cat and I held just about every cat. The little girl that I wanted was so shy she wouldn't come near me, and none of the other cats passed the cuddle test. They all wanted to get away from me to play. Dave kept pointing out this HUGE cat and saying what about him. I kept saying NO WAY! I wanted a kitten and that cat was no kitten. Actually the pet store attendant told me he is. He was the same age as all of the rest of them, just bigger. I didn't fully believe him and I couldn't find a cat that I wanted so we were getting ready to leave with out a cat and Dave tried one more time. Just hold him he told me. What could it possibly hurt. So I held that way too big kitty and he curled up in my arms his head tucked into my neck and started purring. He stayed right there all the way home too. Akari was a wonderful kitty who we loved sharing our lives with. He lived with us for 8 long years.
On my birthday 13 years after we got her we had to put Aneva down. She could no longer stand by herself and even walking was tough. It tore my heart out of my chest. My best friend in the entire world was gone. For the Valentines day after that my wonderful husband once again thought that he could help me heal by getting me a puppy. We went to the shelter in search of one particular dog. Our shelter had an add about the dogs that had been there the longest and we ran across one for a three legged chow chow. How could we not go and save that life. Dave even had a name picked out. That dog would be Tripod. Well apparently we weren't the only ones who thought that because Tripod was not meant to come home with us... instead we walked around and both fell in love with the same dog. A one eyed dog that had half a tail that wagged like crazy. So we went for a three legged dog and came out with a one eyed dog... you should have heard the jokes that were made about that in the car on the way home. Dave wanted to call her Cyclops but I wouldn't let him... he tried Popeye too... and once again I trumped it. We ended up calling her Abigail, a name that I love dearly. She had had a tough life in the seven months she was alive before she came to us... but our goal was ( and still is) to give her the best life we can!
Abby started to show some serious separation anxiety and we couldn't have her tearing our life up all the time. So we added Seamus. Big lumbering lovable Seamus. He was the funniest dog I have ever known. He would flop on his back in the morning and wiggle around making a sound like a car trying to turn over in the winter, until you would rub his belly. If you sat on the couch he had to be there with you his head in your lap upside down so that he could get a belly rub. When a siren would go by he would match pitch with it until you couldn't hear it any more. He was just fun. Oh he was a naughty boy though. He was Aneva reincarnated I swear. He ate three MP3 players that Dave left down as well as numerous sets of ear buds. If it was there he would chew it. Sometimes you hated to love him. Unfortunately Seamus had a jealous streak in him that was not tolerable around our child. When he growled at her, he had to go. She was only 3 months old at the time. We couldn't have that. So Seamus went to the same shelter that Abigail came from. I hope that he found a good home.
These animals are or have been a part of our family. We have been very blessed that they have shared their lives with us. I have read studies that say that the stress level in people who have dogs is lower than people with out. Most times I would say that is fair... there are other times when I would say that the dogs CAUSE the stress. Truly though they have been blessings in our lives!
No comments:
Post a Comment