The Wonders of Animals in Our Lives

So,here you are -  on a website surrounded by polar bears, arctic seals, cats, wolves, dogs, and so forth – so you fully realize that you’re dealing with an animal lover extraordinaire here. Animals aren’t just beautiful, adorable, cuddly, and loving – although they are all of those things. They’re also incredibly good for you, body and soul.

I’ve seen, firsthand, the beautiful things animals can bring into a person’s life. After my dad passed away, my mom was (of course) unspeakably lonely.  She had me and my family living near her, of course, but her house and life had suddenly become unbearably quiet.  Out of the blue, one morning, an adorable little dog who resembled a white Benji (remember him?) appeared on her porch. After placing an ad in the paper and on the radio, she realized she had a new “baby.”  He had shown up on a Wednesday, so that became his name.

He kept my mom company and provided her with more entertainment than a roomful of Jim Careys.  His extremely playful personality and a sweet face that always seemed to be smiling helped light up my mom’s world in its darkest hours.

Caring for him and pampering him like crazy helped her healing process and made the impossible possible.

I was reminded of  precious Wednesday a few days ago when I read the story below.  I’m sure it’ll touch your heart just as it did mine.

“Lucky”

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named ‘Lucky.’ Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s other favorite toys, Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease…in fact, she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her…what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary’s dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him! The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap..

Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life.
He had covered her with his love.
Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It’s been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Related Articles:

1. Positive Feedback vs. Negative Feedback and the Effect Each Has on Our Lives
2. Jewelry that Loves the World in Which it Lives
3. Angel Animals – Book of Inspiration by Allen and Linda Anderson
4. Please Read –
5. Join Oceana in the Fight to Save the Oceans and The Wonderful Animals That Rely Upon Them
6. Daily Quote: For the Love of Animals!

Tagged as: inspirational animals, inspirational dog stories