Dogs have always been a big part of my life since I married Sam. Let me clarify..My Brothers and I always wanted a dog and through our years of growing up people would give us dogs that didn’t work out for them. We were thrilled but after a few days when we came home, they would be gone. God only knows what happened to them, I don’t even want to think about that. I finally felt safe having a Pet and not have it disappear when I married Sam.

Admittedly that was quite a time span and a lot happened in between. First marriage, birth of my Son, divorce, single working Mom, yada yada. So after we got settled my son Andrew was 9 and I wanted to complete our family with a dog, my thinking being it might give my son a buddy. Sam ended up being the primary caretaker, but I cleaned up the messes and fielded the phone calls at work when Jesse the Golden Retriever would get loose. From then on we always had a Golden or two, in our crazy lives, which included hauling a Collie mix and Corgi across the country to Vancouver, WA for Sam’s new job in 2004. Waylon the Corgi, who was not neutered quickly fell for the female Rottweiler across the street. He would lay and moan when ever she went into heat. But I digress.

What I’m trying to get at is, families are made up of humans and animals. Animals can fill a void in our life and my pets have certainly done that. The void of being 2400 miles away from family, especially my Grandchildren. Companionship when I lost my husband. I had to get up and walk the dogs even though I didn’t want to even get out of bed in the morning. I had a purpose. They also complicate our lives. It’s hard to travel, it’s expensive if you want to take them to pet-friendly places. But I have adjusted more or less. I also need to mention I do not trust people who don’t care for dogs. Something just not right about them.

After Waylon the Corgi died in May of 2014, another loss in my life, Honey and I were on our own. She missed the little guy but enjoyed being queen of the house. Plus I don’t think she missed the pain in her ass coming up to her to pick a fight so they could play.

Pets can give us another dimension to our lives. Visits to dog parks, and being with others who love dogs. Oh yeah I almost forgot..for some reason my life wasn’t complicated enough so I got Honey a playmate after five years of being alone. A corgi mix named Flash who is 5 and not nearly as house broken as I was led to believe..is now part of our family. The jury is still out on this latest development but I’m thinking it will all work out. Welcome to our little family Flash, Honey and I love you.

Have any of you had a pet that helped you cope with a loss or filled a void? I would love to hear your pet stories.