Dogs are the great healers. These stories of selfless caretaking fill me with mixed emotions. It’s not unusual that in a large family, one person, usually a daughter, ends up “putting her life on hold” to caretake an aging parent. That dad was VERY lucky to have such a daughter and thank God she had a willing husband and several dogs!!
Amongst the heartfelt there were sentences peppered throughout which would make me smile or giggle:
It was sort of like replacing Prince Philip with Kate Middleton.
Update (5/7/2021):
There were drawbacks. At dinners out, Patricia would ask, “Are you finished?” before we were finished and then whip out a plastic container she’d fill with the “last” bites to take home to Casey. As Dad and Patricia grew closer, Trilby also became the beneficiary of this largesse, and both she and Casey started looking like candidates for The Biggest Loser. “Old people and dogs,” the vet said to me once, shaking her head as she charted Trilby’s expansion.
This story is simultaneously healing and heart-wrenching. It really goes to show how pets are integral parts of our lives and help us hold on to memories we can’t bear to lose.
There was an indoor training area with something like a practice ring, and when we entered, Trilby proceeded to speed around the perimeter, bounding in one direction and then another, like a gazelle with very short legs. I’ve often returned to that moment, because it was and still is one of the best expressions of pure joy I’ve ever seen, and it was contagious even in our sorrow. I knew then that Trilby, canine antidote, would take care of all of us.
It turned out that Dad had pulled Lucy aside some years ago and told her he wanted Wesley to be buried with him. Ever dutiful, she had rescued the box of Wesley’s ashes when we were cleaning out and preparing to sell the San Antonio apartment. She had transferred his remains to an attractive urn, and now Wesley was in Lucy’s car on his way to the service.
Great storytelling - deeply moving. I am also suspicious of people who are not animal lovers. For me, a 10!
Dogs are the great healers. These stories of selfless caretaking fill me with mixed emotions. It’s not unusual that in a large family, one person, usually a daughter, ends up “putting her life on hold” to caretake an aging parent. That dad was VERY lucky to have such a daughter and thank God she had a willing husband and several dogs!!
Superb.
Amongst the heartfelt there were sentences peppered throughout which would make me smile or giggle:
This story is simultaneously healing and heart-wrenching. It really goes to show how pets are integral parts of our lives and help us hold on to memories we can’t bear to lose.
Great article! Lucy is a real hero.