Parting Thoughts
The Joy of an Animal Words Michelle Guerrero
O
ur furry companions weave themselves into our lives and hearts in such beautiful ways. They become part of our family and part of our life’s story. When I look back upon my home life from childhood forward, there is always a pet in the picture. As a child we had two German shepherds who I told all my secrets to and a grouchy orange cat I couldn’t catch; as a teen there was an odd lime-green lizard and a very brave schnauzer; as an young adult there was another beautiful shepherd who loved me, but wanted to eat just about everyone else, and two slightly-evil, half-Siamese cats. Now we have a fierce Chihuahua that thinks she rules the house and her pit-bull mix subordinate who lets her. When I’m outdoors, there’s always a horse in the picture. Even when they are naughty, they have a gift to give. Like when my friend was pup sitting for my sweet little Chihuahua, Bella. She let Bella cuddle in bed with her at night because she’s so cute and likes to spoon. In the middle of the night my friend felt a little “pebble” in the bed and placed it on her bedside table since she couldn’t figure out what it was in the dark. The next morning she figured out what it was. It wasn’t a pebble. Bella did indeed give her a gift and a good story to share! Then there was the time that Betty, our pit-mix tried to debunk the theory (it’s not a theory – she just thinks it is) that chocolate can be deadly for dogs. My husband hid the Halloween candy in our closet, so my pre-teen son wouldn’t eat it before we could give it away. The mini chocolate bars were sealed in the original bag, wrapped in two grocery sacks that were knotted, and then placed high on a shelf.
One day we came home from running errands and discovered that Betty found the candy and annihilated both bags. If it weren’t for the fact she feels very guilty when she’s naughty, I might have blamed my son. But Betty confessed with her head down, ears back and big, sad, watery, brown eyes looking up at me. We can’t figure out how she found and reached the candy. She has the body of a large dog, but these itty-bitty legs. We also can’t figure out how she opened the little wrappers to pull out the candy without actually eating the wrappers. Makes me wish we had hidden cameras. And finally, we can’t figure out how she survived! At the time it wasn’t so funny, but now it’s hilarious! Animal tracks come in many forms: hooved, pawed, clawed and occasionally scratched (for us chicken lovers). They add so much to our lives and we love them for it. They leave little mud prints in our hearts can be felt for a lifetime.
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North Scottsdale Lifestyle | September 2014