Are you an animal lover? You either are or you are not. I have to honestly say I never really thought of myself as an over zealous animal person. But when I look back to my childhood the signs were always there. I remember my first pet being a very large tiger cat named lol “TIGER”. I have no idea where he came from; I think he may have been a stray . He was a cat that did not have a litter box, he was house trained… I don’t know another cat to this day that was or is like that. I think we had a couple of other cats over the years but I became allergic to them so they were not my go to.
One of my fondest memories of pets was when one of our neighbors found a pregnant dog in the bushes. Somehow we ended up with her. We named her Lady and she was a beautiful Irish Setter. Lady had a litter of eight puppies. I was so excited to have all those puppies.. they were all different colors and we found homes for all of them and kept one for ourselves. She was a great dog and beautiful. She looked like her mom, golden red coat with the sweetest disposition. We named her Ginger.. we were so ahead of the times lol. Back then, almost every dog I knew was an outside dog, not like today’s pets. She did sleep in the garage which was probably quite a luxury.
We did happen get an indoor dog when I was a teenager. She was a little black toy poodle name Joliet….She was really cute but she had quite an attitude. She was not my favorite as she really only liked my mother and could be quite vicious. She would always hide under the bed when we were getting ready to leave. Many times it was my job to go get her and she would just growl at me making retrieval an absolute challenge as one did not want to lose their hand.
There was a short time when in college where a pet was absent from my life. But shortly after graduation I did fall in love with a German Spitz in a pet store in the mall. A Spitz means “pointed” which describes their pointed ears and wolflike appearance but small in stature. She was the color of Bailey’s Irish Creme hence I named her Bailey… She was my only friend at the time.. Recently out of college with most of my friends returning home and I was out on my own. She was a great comfort to me during a very difficult time. It broke my heart when I found a nice place to live that would not allow pets and I had to find a new home for her. Luckily my great aunt took her in so it lessened the pain. I truly did love Bailey.
The next time a dog entered my life was when my daughter Alaina was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 10. I was worried my younger daughter Kassia by 17 months was going to feel overlooked with all of the focus now being put on Alaina. This disease consumed our entire family. I thought purchasing a dog for her birthday would make her feel special. I found an adorable little West Highland Terrier that came directly from Ireland. She adored him, named him Lucas after Star Wars and the entire family embraced him. As Kassia got older and more involved in activities Luke became more my dog than anyone’s. I was devastated when we lost him.
The loss of Luke left an emptiness in our home. It didn’t take long before I filled the void with Oliver, a Cairn Terrier. I figured I could never get a Westie that I loved more than Luke so a similar breed would be a great compromise. Oliver aka Ollie was a joy. I took him to work with me as my boss was kind enough to allow him in the office. He became the office mascot, everyone loved Ollie. I loved Ollie as much as I loved Luke. He was similar in many ways but definitely was one of a kind.
I lost Ollie about two years ago which left another huge hole in my heart. At the time that Ollie left us we had my sons’ dog Delilah, a beautiful Border Collie living with us. Her presence seemed to make the loss more bearable and I immersed myself in her care as I was now working at home. Delilah is a very special dog in so many ways. She unfortunately requires a lot of care as she has a disease called Diabetes Insipidus which requires medication every seven hours. She is one of the most intelligent dogs I have ever encountered and such sensitivity. I feel like she imprinted on my heart. I love this sweet, gentle girl as if she were my own.
But she is not my dog and as life would have it she will be leaving my home with her dad. This of course was inevitable and as I anticipated this loss I began to search for a dog of my own. I could never replace the bond I have with Delilah but I hopefully could create a new one.
You might think… why would you want another dog at this point in your life? You are retired … why would you want a dog to tie you down? And honestly, many people do feel this way… I totally understand why. But for me I do not see the presence of a dog as a burden. I personally get great comfort from their undeniable, unconditional love. I will forfeit a tiny bit of freedom for the joy they continually provide if need be. But many people still have pets and still find ways to enjoy life. There are solutions when the situations arise for trips etc. It’s a small price to pay for what they give. They ask for so little and in return provide something no other human can.
So my search ended when I fell in love with a Border Collie named Yago. ..(unique name given by the breeder who is a Harvard academic teaching English) I changed the name to Margo (similar in sound to Yago) as I could never in a million years remember the origin of her name, very academia… Margo is a smooth/silky coat border Collie versus the traditional “rough” coat-fluffy Border Collie like Delilah. Although I prefer the beautiful coat of Delilah I fell in love with Margo’s soulful eyes and did not want to hold the coat difference against her. The real test was when I went to meet her. She was so friendly and carefree I decided if she would have me I would take a chance on her.
It’s been a couple of weeks and we have had our challenges as she is already 8 months old which has its pros and cons. Being separated from her five siblings and mom after substantial bonding time would be traumatic for anyone. The plus side is she is already house and crate trained. Watching her play with toys she never had and enjoy treats brings me so much joy. I will accept the time it takes to get her fully acclimated and less fearful as I truly think she will make a wonderful companion in the long run.
The science behind dog ownership supports why so many people own dogs. The feel good hormone, Oxytocin increases when owners and their dogs look at each other. http://www.adoptapet.com/blog/lifestyle/oxytocin-chemistry-between-people-and-dogs-real This is the same hormone released between mother and infant. This phenomena is a testament to the rise in service dogs for anxiety. I myself have felt and still do feel a sense of calmness when sitting beside dogs.
Today, most of society treat their pets as family members. I was absolutely blown away when I found out how many households actually own dogs. According to the World Animal Foundation https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/pet-ownership-statistics/ 95 million households own dogs and 71 million own cats. That’s 70% of households!! There are a lot of dog lovers out there, millennials making up the majority of ownership at 30%. The dog business is the one to be in!
Whatever kind of pet one has they truly hold so much power in helping humans in various ways. There are so many stories of what these amazing animals can do and have done. One of my favorites is Rescued by Ruby a true story about a K-9 service dog from RI. If you have not seen it you should as it is a remarkable story. https://www.netflix.com/title/81107362 Whether you are a dog lover or not they are truly godly.. DOG-GOD. The unconditional love that only they can give.
