The Portable Universe: November 2013

I like my cat. She’s a good cat and has stuck to me like a friendly burr for nearly ten years. She’s been to the vet only twice, once to be spayed and once for a rabies vaccination when we moved. She doesn’t fight with other cats; or at least, she comes away unscathed. She is a merciless and efficient hunter of vermin. A good cat.

BUT – I love my dog. Even though he threw up in my car the first few times we went on a drive. Even when he chewed up one of my $100 pair of Chaco sandals. Even though he doesn’t understand the concept of Daylight Savings Time or sleeping in. Even though he considers horse droppings a tasty treat on the hiking trails. I love my dog.

I remember the exact moment I finally got it about dogs and their human soul mates. I was with Indy, my ancient Hurricane Katrina rescue mutt, at one of his more frequent vet visits. Dr Bob Bruno, Westmoreland Vet Clinic, a humorous and commonsense man. I don’t know what we were contemplating about Indy’s care. But in a flash, at that moment, I became more than this animal’s caretaker. I pulled him in close to me and said I love this dog and I will do whatever it takes to make sure he has the best life possible.

I have occasionally made other such instinctive statements. For example, when attending a career change workshop in Portland a few years ago, I said aloud in a class full of hopeful changees, I would rather be homeless than ever work in the corporate world again. Or when I told my daughter there are some people I would kill for but you are the only one I’d die for.

There are many out there that need a pet to lavish attention on, to adore and spoil. It gives them an outlet to be vulnerable enough to love and minimizes the devastation of rejection. This is a wonderful thing, both for the pet and the human. It reminds us that we still have a soul and the capacity to love.

But I’ve come to believe, truly and earnestly, that there is something special about dogs. It only took me 50 years to figure that out. I’m lucky I got the chance. And I’m lucky I got the dog. And he got me.