You can tell a lot about people by the way they react when things don't go exactly as planned. A friend from work, Mary, and her husband, facing the Empty Nest syndrome, decided they wanted a couple of dogs for companionship, so they got a brother-sister pair of Shih Tzus, which they named Rudy and Gracie. Things began to wrong with Gracie almost immediately. After numerous trips to the vet, they learned that her kidneys never did develop properly. They spent months doing everything they could, but the battle was lost Wednesday. What was supposed to have been an easy way to liven up a household turned into a long nightmare with a sad ending. And through it all, my friend and her husband bore up and did whatever they needed to for that dog.
I know a lot of people who would have given up almost immediately. "Hey, this isn't the deal we bargained for, let's just get rid of the stupid dog and go back to normal." They wouldn't have spent thousands of dollars. They wouldn't have done everything the vet said -- all the shots and injections, the force-feeding. They wouldn't have given up all their spare time to try to make it work and stayed up nights when it didn't. They certainly wouldn't now be agonizing over what Rudy must be going through, trying to figure out what happened to Gracie.
All of us who have people like that in our lives should give thanks. Not just because they care more about a dog's well-being than some people do about their own children's, but because they stick with the course they set, even in the face of consequences they couldn't have foreseen and would not have chosen. Those are the kind of people who also know how to treat friends, too, accepting their faults as well as their virtues.
Mary said yesterday she was glad she still had Rudy. "If I didn't, I'd go out and get another dog immediately. I never realized how quickly I would get used to having them around." That she could feel that way after everything they've been through is the most remarkable thing of all.
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In 1995 my wife and I adopted a greyhound- her name was "Sissy".
About a year later, we found a stray...well, we are not sure what she is...corgi/shepard mix perhaps? Her name is Bailey.
Anyway, in 2004, Sissy began to lose weight. We took her to the vet and found out that her liver was failing. The only possible way to save her would be a liver transplant, but they do not do that for dogs. We had her put down before she could suffer too much. I held her while she died. It broke my heart.
A few months later my wife wanted to get another dog to keep Bailey company. I resisted- I did not want to set myself up for that inevitable pain of losing another pet at some point.
My wife, however, pointed out that getting another pet does not mean you did not love the first one- rather, it means that you have more love yet to give to other animals.
We adopted a Border Collie /Terrier mix from the shelter- (his name is "Connor"). Frankly, I cannot imagine how empty our house would be without him and Bailey to keep us company.
I adopted a little yorkie who had already lived in a couple other homes. One place kept him tied to the leg of a chair because they didn't want to bother with him. My only regret about adopting Andre is that I didn't get him sooner! He wasn't housebroke but I worked with him and got him housebroke. He is a loving, affectionate and intelligent companion and I can't imagine my life without him. I have had other dogs that had health or behavior problems and although it was stressful I couldn't imagine just "getting rid of them" because it was too much trouble. Animals deserve compassion and love and if you don't feel the way Mary and her husband do about dogs, you shouldn't own one.
Amazing what we, as mere mortals will do when faced with something as wonderful as "unconditional love"...
Which, as any pet owner will tell you is what their dog, cat, horse, or whatever animal gives to them. And we respond in kind by the care we give back.
I suppose there is one very powerful message we can learn here from our four-footed "family members".
;)
B.G.