Today is National Love Your Pet Day, in case you were wondering.
Yesterday, I told you about George The Goat and his new, loving home in Texas.
I’ve been thinking about George and smiling all day.
For the last seven years, I’ve shared my home, and my life, with two little dogs named, Izzy (female, 7.5 years old) and Little Man (male, 7 years old today.)
Happy Birthday, Little Man!
Understanding that there are some horrific people out there that do awful things to animals, I say this cautiously:
We love the crap out of our pets, don’t we?
I know I do — unabashed and completely unconditionally.
When I was working in Birmingham, AL in 2019/2020, I could not sleep, because my two little furbabies weren’t sleeping with me, hogging the entire bed.
I flew back to Montana for Christmas in 2019, and brought Little Man back to Birmingham with me, but it wasn’t the same, since Izzy wasn’t with us (I could only fly with one animal with me in the cabin, and there was no way in hell I was putting Izzy under the plane).
Izzy stayed in Montana and slept with a sweet, little girl every night, and every morning, she snuggled on the sofa, with the little boy that lived in the house.
It made me feel better about leaving her behind for about 12 weeks, but I missed her so much it hurt. Little Man missed her, too.
These pups and I have been through some intense times together, both good and bad.
They’re well traveled, and they both know that when the red suitcases comes out of the closet, we are about to embark on a road trip.
For a while there, it seemed as if Little Man’s mission in life was to pay for his vet’s newly-expanded office facilities. We were at that vet’s office every day for a month.
Not to be outdone, Izzy blew out a couple discs in her back, while playing an intense game of “let’s run the fence line together” with a super-psyched, next-door-neighbor pal — a boxer named Joey.
CAT scans and weekly acupuncture for two months, until she was back to herself.
They’ve been to North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Alabama (only LM), Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and have traveled through a dozen other states.
Occasionally, I dress them up in funny outfits.
They are not amused by it at all, but I think they’re adorable.
These two are my ring doorbell alarms.
Throughout all of the it — the vet trips, the traveling, hustling to find dog sitters for them at a new location, barking their fool heads off because the UPS man looks like a serial killer, begging because people food is waaaaaay better than dog food, wanting to play catch at three in the morning — I wouldn’t change a thing.
At the end of the day, these two pups are the closest I’ll get to being a parent, and I’ve decided that it’s my duty to ensure that they have the best lives possible.
Evidently, they’ve decided that they’re okay with this crazy life of mine, because they never leave my side.
Give your pets an extra treat tonight.
They know what day today it is.
I don’t know how they know, but they know.
More tomorrow,
-A
I hear ya – every step of the way. Tater and Daisy were my buddies par excellence. A 25 lb mutt and a 20 lb Boston. We did some road trips but mainly I was the old lady at the end of the block with the cute doggos. I had to go for a sleep apnea test once, and having no dogs on the bed taking up the prime real estate was sooo weird. I kept sweeping my legs from side to side just to revel in it for one night… and they diagnosed me with Restless Leg Syndrome.