Our Miracle Buddy

Leo was my miracle little buddy. He was a clingy little guy that grew up with lots of hugs and love, something in short supply during the global pandemic. During that dark period, many of us questioned whether seeking an emotional connection with others was possible. When Leo’s owner suddenly passed away, he became despondent. Leo lost his appetite, and the surviving husband expressed little desire to meet Leo’s health and emotional needs.

Sadly, his grooming and dietary requirements became a low priority to his surviving owner. Soon Leo was placed for adoption, and at the age of five, this little guy faced awful odds. Leo had some health issues and was no longer as attractive as he was during his younger days to many of the folks that looked him over.

But when I came down to look at him, our eyes locked! Suddenly, I saw a glimmer in his eyes that no one else had seen. We connected instantly, and I knew he would become part of our family.

He had a different name, but to us, he sure looked like the name Leo fit his personality. We made up our minds that he would be the one coming home with us on that fateful day! After hearing all about his upbringing and how his perfect life turned into a sad nightmare, we decided to bring back all the joy that he had lost. He deserved it, and we knew that it would eventually be a perfect fit for all of us.

Leo came home with us that night, and we noticed that his focus on us never wavered. It seemed as though he sought to learn everything about us. He listened attentively the first time we called him Leo, and his eyes lit up like a shining star. It is as if he yearned to become a part of our family. He seemed to accept any name we gave him because he noticed the love in our eyes. We treated him as part of our family the minute he entered our home.

Perhaps, this explains why his eyes became magnetically focused on both of us. I knew he was trying hard to learn everything about us, namely, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I could tell he wanted to open his heart up to us, but we knew he had to work through the insecurities that he had picked after his beloved owner passed away. I gave him space to reignite his emotions. I figured he would come around in a month or so if we would show him unconditional love with no strings attached.

Miraculously, we could see that each day Leo was becoming a little more comfortable. This led us to believe that he would jump over his emotional hurdles in 2 to 3 weeks instead of our previous expectation of 4 to 6 weeks.

You can imagine my shock and excitement as we learned that by day 5, Leo was not only making direct eye contact with both of us but was actively seeking hugs and playful kisses. His heart opened up to us, and his behavior confirmed that there would be no turning back.

It was nice to see Leo becoming as committed to us as we were to him. We unconditionally opened our hearts to him and were elated to see that the feeling was mutual.

The life lesson here is that love can never enter our lives unless we are also willing to offer our love simultaneously. Don’t expect others to love us until we are prepared to unleash our emotions and open our hearts to others.