dog
It's no coincidence that a dog is a man's best friend; they're more faithful than most other animals, and more faithful than many people.
To My Dog
Dog. I know you don’t remember when we met, you were too young. I needed gas , back when I thought $3.10 was a lot per gallon, and you where with a homeless man who was shoeless, sitting on a five gallon bucket . He had a cardboard sign, but not one daring me to hit him with a quarter, or asking for anything, instead his sign said “pit bull puppy’s”. I stopped and he had only you. “$200?” Said the man. I searched my pocket and found only 4 twenties. Your blue eyes pleaded at me, they have since turned gold. “I’ll give you $80, and you can forget about this dog for good.” He handed you to me and I paid him. We listened to rock and roll as you sat nervously on my lap on the ride home. As I sang the songs on the radio you started to loosen up, you still love it when I sing to you. I named you from one of those many songs that played as we drove home sealing our fate together as best friends for the remanding years of your life. Selfishly sometimes I wish it were for the remaining years of mine.
By Auston Ricks 4 years ago in Petlife
The Early Twilight
She had been moved between houses so much that you couldn't even call it re-homing anymore. From my count, it was 7 times in her five young months of life. I had seen a post about her from a friend of a friend, and as soon as I saw her, I knew I wanted to give her a forever home. I'd been struggling with anxiety and depression for years, and my therapist had said that having another living being that could pour into me the way I would for them, would be something that could save my life. With all of these reasons, I knew I had to get her. At the time, I was living with my parents who were extremely against getting another dog, and they said if I came home with one, I would not be allowed inside. After days of struggling through it, I knew that my mental health, along with saving this dog, was more important than the "rules" my parents had put in place. So, with a few phone calls, I had a place to stay for a few days, and I had arranged for this enormous puppy to be brought down halfway where I could meet and pick her up. Apparently, her name had been changed by each of her owners that she didn't respond to anything. During the entire three hour drive there, I was wracking my brain for name options, and nothing was coming. Eventually, I got there and as soon as I saw her get out of the car, my heart melted. She was bigger than any dog I'd had up until that point, even at her young age. Her dad was a black lab, and her mom was half German Shepherd/half Great Pyrenees, so I knew there would be lots of kibble in our future. From that first moment that I pet her and held her, I knew we were in it all together. On my way home, I was really trying to find names for this beautiful baby, all curled up on the floor of my passenger seat, staring at me the whole time. Eventually, after drawing hundreds of blanks, I started looking at what I knew about her personality. She was quiet, a little slow, incredibly loving, and she had a depth and wisdom in her eyes that belied her young life. A word popped into my head and as I spoke it aloud, she looked up, "Sage." I called my parents, and they could see the love I already had for her. They said we could take it a day at a time and see how things went. During my long days at work, she would have to be with a sitter, but I was willing to do whatever it took to keep my dog. Two days after I brought my girl home, I was minutes away from leaving to pick her up when I got a call from the sitter saying, "I don't know what's wrong with Sage, but she started yelping, drooling, and she's now passed out and not breathing. I'm taking her to the emergency room." I drove frantically, praying that I would make it in time to see her, not knowing what was going to happen. As I wove between traffic, I felt as though my life was crumbling, a shiny new puzzle piece of my life may be removed without warning. After arriving and waiting for hours, the doctor told me that she was comatose upon arrival, but she was coming to, and they had no idea what was wrong, but they needed to keep her for observation. I waited a day and was able to pick up my girl. Aside from a shaved patch on her leg where they had put an IV, she was the same loving princess. I stayed home from work for a few days to take care of her and make sure that she was doing alright, and as time passed, my anxiety decreased while I had Sage home. The following Wednesday, exactly a week after I had gotten her, I walked outside where she had been sunbathing to find her passed out, with the same symptoms as the sitter had reported. She was laying on her side, drool coming out of her mouth, not responding. I screamed for my dad and we rushed to the hospital. They took her inside as I was crying in the car. The doctor came out an hour later with a report different than the first time around. Somehow, they had missed some swelling in her brain, and they now deduced that she was having seizures, causing her immense pain. The doctor told me that the only option was to either allow her to go on living like this, or make the decision to put her down and take away her pain. I could never allow her to be in such pain, knowing what I did then. After only five short months of life, my angel was finally laid to rest. They say that the twilight years are those at the end of life, but she didn't get to experience any. She had a life of pain, but in that one week I knew that she was able to feel true love for the first time, and for that I am incredibly grateful. She taught me that it's ok to open yourself up to love, even if it means getting hurt. It cost me a lot of time, money, and pain in the end, but it was all worth it, knowing that I could finally give her love and eventual peace. Sage was the best girl, even in her Early Twilight.
By Connor Hawkes4 years ago in Petlife
The Legacy of Peter Pan
The tears brimmed my eyes, threatening to cool off my burning cheeks. There was still a yellow-polar-bear sized hole in my heart that I thought the last 6 months had healed, but as I looked at this plain, brown paper bag of a dog, I was no longer sure.
By Cassidy Sitton4 years ago in Petlife
My Boy Baxter
He loved the snow. My boy Baxter truly loved the snow. Somehow he could sense when it was snowing and all he wanted was to get out of the house and into it! He would sit on the wooden swing we had in the backyard and let it cover him while it was falling. Then he never wanted to come in when I thought he'd had enough time out in the cold. But this memory I am sharing is not only about me and Baxter. It includes my kid as well. It's a three-way memory that I was lucky enough to capture forever in a picture.
By Lynne Albuquerque4 years ago in Petlife
A Delightful New Friendship
She walked in the front doors of the building and pranced on in like she owned the place. Friendly as she could be and without hesitation came right up to me as I came into the room. Her beautiful long coat with light soft brown, black and white colors and her dark brown eyes peering at me as though to say, “I’m yours, right?” To think I almost considered this offer of taking her home not an option.
By Eichelle Hamaker4 years ago in Petlife
Travel Puppy
One random afternoon, an idea struck my mind after a conversation with an old friend. It was then that the story was born. Ian would soon become a traveling puppy. Now, Ian is not just any puppy, he’s also my emotional support dog, and his loyalty towards my peace of mind is something he takes seriously for the most part. He is content anywhere he gets to be with me, even if that means traveling from Florida to Texas.
By The Poet Libby4 years ago in Petlife
Everyone Needs a Little Hope
Everyone Needs a Little Hope India the Bernedoodle opened her big brown eyes and rolled over toward the alarm clock. Her large belly stretched over the side of the pink pillow she was sleeping on. It was way past time for her owner Tracy to get up. If Tracy didn’t wake up soon, drastic measures would have to be taken, including licking her face and toes. Today was the day India had been waiting for at Camp Doodle Woods. Her puppies were about to arrive!
By Karen Nicksich4 years ago in Petlife
She's Not Mine
When I was living in Sri Lanka last year I became a loving friend to this beautiful soul. I was told her name is Kelly and she was abandoned (as many dogs are) as a puppy by the lakes. I would pass her every night on my sunset cycle and stop to feed her treats that I bought especially. She often had wounds on her that I would send reiki energy to. I could feel the heat from her body as she would lie so quietly beside my bike as I placed my hands on her and sent her love.
By Kayleigh Fraser ✨4 years ago in Petlife
The Chase
Thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump. My feet and heart hammered in tandem as I raced up the sidewalk. How did it come to this, I wondered? Amused and out of breath, I stopped for a minute, peering into neighbors' yards. Pondering the past, I thought back to when we'd first rescued the currently missing pup. A little scraggly scruff of brown fur, adorable and energetic had peered up at me out of the cardboard box. We'd been begging for a pet and the universe had forced our softhearted father to agree when she'd been abandoned on the doorstep of his woodshop.
By Karen Lynch4 years ago in Petlife
Want to Do 'Gility, Beau?
Heart Dog Many people say they have a "heart dog," that special dog that touches them down to their very core. Beau was mine. I purchased him in 2001 from Kajun-Fox kennel not because I thought that dogs from breeders were superior in any way, but because I had a specific dog that I wanted in mind.
By Kimberly J Egan4 years ago in Petlife
