I’m glad to report that our family has a new member. In a week’s time she has captivated us with her gentle personality and loving manner.
Surprising myself, I’ve even been showing pictures to friends of our new addition. Her name is Sandy, short for NoreasterWinds Sands of Time.
Courtesy of a couple in Parsonsburg in Wicomico County, on the eastern side of Salisbury, we now own, feed and focus upon a seven-year-old Yellow Labrador Retriever. Our lives have changed for the better. We have humanized this animal, often uttering words of affection as if she were a grandchild.
For years we have wanted a pet we could love unconditionally. Not too long ago we had a black lab, who also captured our fancy. We lost her to a tumor. It was wrenching, as it is so often for pet owners. Somehow, the cliché, “it’s only a dog” does not soften the pain of a losing a family member, even a four-legged one.
A caveat that may or may not matter: as a child, I never had a pet. My mother figured, probably rightly so, that neither of her two sons would pay sufficient attention to a dog. And, of course, she would be left with the care and feeding. She didn’t like animals enough to take on that responsibility. Though I had a good childhood, it was pet-less.
Now I am the adult in the family. I don’t need a parent’s permission. I can have a say as to whether or not to live not only with a terrific wife but a wonderful dog as well.
Back to Sandy, who deservedly draws the spotlight. She has spent little time adjusting comfortably to our home and neighborhood. She is passive. She wants to please us and easily does so. She is unabashedly lovable and attentive. Unlike our previous lab and most other Labrador Retrievers, she does not fetch, she doesn’t seem particularly interested in cats or rabbits and puddles of water have no attraction to her.
Realizing that our readership contains far more knowledgeable and experienced pet owners than this writer, I will echo what many know and treasure. A dog of whatever type and breed, becomes a family member in short order. For a couple or person without children under foot, a dog quickly changes your routine. Proper feeding and exercise become part of your life. Health concerns are important: a veterinarian becomes your best friend.
I mentioned I had no pet as a child. Hence, I had little or no sensitivity to friends who did. I recall when a good friend in high school was very upset when his dog died. I thought that was ridiculous. It’s just an animal, after all. Why would this friend forsake touch football to mourn a family pet? I simply could not sympathize.
I now do.
When our former Labrador Retriever died, I felt an unmistakable void in our home. We lost a source of affection; we lost a creature we cared about and, yes, loved. We spent several years dealing with that void and then finally, more than week ago, filled that space in our lives.
A friend recently told me that his wife was mourning the death of their Black Labrador. I understood this loss. I didn’t scoff at the notion as I did in high school, lo so many years ago.
Just this past weekend, my younger daughter, joined by her husband, two young children and their long-owned Black Labrador, visited us. Would you believe I worried in the days leading up to visit whether Sandy and Max would get along? I worried about whether how normally passive Sandy would deal with sometimes aggressive Max. No need to fret. They became fast friends.
I know it’s easy to humanize a dog, bestowing the characteristics of two-legged homo sapiens on a four-legged canine. I’m afraid I’m guilty as charged. I will not yield to rational thinking, at least in this instance, and alter my behavior and attitude.
Sandy is sweeter and gentler than I ever could have imagined. She’s become a constant companion. I am enamored. A soft touch? Yup.
Notwithstanding her long name and illustrious pedigree, Sandy is down-to-earth and friendly to all who pay her a little attention.
Our lives are fuller now. Pets can do that.
Lesley Israel says
Lucky pup to have you as her new family!