Having pets can give you practice for having relationships with people. We have three pets. We did the thing that veterinarians tell you not to do: they are all about the same age. Two are rescues. Two are pets that became part of my life through marriage.
The Menagerie
Invader Zim, the beagle, is a running-away dog. Good thing he's cute! He needed a lot of remedial training to just have the dog basics. I'm reminded of the judgmental thoughts I had about an acquaintance who had a beagle. I quickly grew tired of her calling her dog, over and over. "Derby, come! Derrrrrbyyyyyyy COME! DERBY Come!" became a bit of a joke... But it turns out that this is pretty common with beagles. They can't hear you when the nose is engaged. And the nose is OFTEN engaged! Other than filling in the holes under the fence, chasing him down the block, and bailing him out of doggie jail, he's been a soft-eared delight to live with.
Annie Cat joined our household about 5 years ago and she does an excellent job job: being soft. She helped me heal during chemotherapy by snuggling on my lap during the day and by my side at night. She will lay in wait on the foot-board of the bed, then reach out and put her paws around your neck as you pass so that you'll pick her up for a cuddle. (In the photo to the left, you see that Annie likes soft things. She found the comforter that was on its way from the dryer to the bed and decided it made a good cat bed.)
Isabella Dona Pugellini, the pug, is super smart, and is very much an elder dog. My spouse enjoyed teaching her lots of tricks and showing off her obedience and agility skills. Now she's stone deaf and nearly blind. We are very grateful that knows hand signs so we can still communicate with her a bit. She is bossy, inquisitive, and spreads garbage around the house if it isn't locked down. Our household shared custody of her until the last couple years so I never really developed a relationship with her, but she's a member of the family, so she gets my loving care just like the others.
Clean Floors
They are aging. Slowly we've been adjusting our living around their needs. Getting garbage pails with lids and putting bricks at the bottom edge of the fencing worked when they were younger. Now our geriatric pets need more accommodations. Baby gates prevent accidents in areas of the house that are hard to clean up. The mop is kept handy. We have invested in doggie diapers and specialty enzyme cleansers. Ironically, the floors are cleaner now than ever because they get mopped sometimes twice a day. They are let out into the back yard frequently, and the pug needs to be rescued when she gets lost around a corner. The already inattentive beagle has started to go deaf so he has to be watched carefully or hooked to a line. Medication refills keep them moving and a special ramp helps the pug get in the house.
Aurgh
Sometimes I am frustrated. Sometimes I hear the voice inside that is at its wits end saying: "when they die we won't have to be embarrassed to have people over, we won't be cleaning so often, we won't be spending so much on meds..." When that happens I know I'm moving too quickly. The beings we commit to (whether they are furry family or human family) deserve our care through both health and sickness. They did their job, and paid into their "social security." It will be our responsibility to help our pets move out of life when it is time, and we'll be faced with the impossible responsibility to determine when that time is. Until then, it is our responsibility to give them a safe life, free from want.
Everything I learned
Just like pets, people come with hardships and messiness and complications. We don't get to shop for the perfect family members, but we can learn how to deal with that messiness by looking at how we deal with our pets.
Our pets, our children, and all our loved ones depend on us. The relationship between dogs and humans evolved many thousands of years ago and now we rely on them as they rely on us. This is also true not only with families but in society. The fact that we have the ability to care for them, and that they cannot survive without us, morally obligates us to pay attention to how we care for them. All of them! We, as a community, are responsible for the strays and the lost, those who have been displaced or abused, and those who are neglected or broken.
Facebook and Youtube videos of kindness to animals - wild animals and pets, injured animals, homeless animals, and disabled animals - abound. They get shared and "liked" and they seem to make people feel good. It is good to be reminded that we humans can act on compassion.
We can learn from them.
We can learn that displaced human children deserve just as much compassion as a baby squirrel.
We can learn that disabled people deserve just as much compassion and accessibility as a cat.
We can learn that we can feel good about saving the life of a person living on the street just like we can feel good about saving the life of a dog that has gotten into danger.
Having pets can give you practice for having relationships with people. It feels really good to make a difference in another life. May we each find the lives that we will bless. We have much to give, and there is much need out there.
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