Thursday, July 1, 2010

My best emotional therapy.

While laughter may be the best medicine for what ails you, pets are most assuredly the best therapy. 


This is Harley.  Harley is a 7year old-ish yorkie/schnauzer mix that we adopted over two years ago.  Unlike many yorkies- Miss Dog is most decidedly NOT a lap dog.  She is perfectly content to bring me a toy when I get home, get some love and then go back about her business.  Super sweet and mellow; Harley thinks that every dog and person is supposed to be her friend whether they know it or not.  She has taken on the role of indulgent older sister with our latest family member.  She will tolerate him until she gets tired of him, then she will just wallop him.  She also "fusses" at him if he gets too excited or if he is getting in trouble. 



This is Auggie.  Auggie is about 18 months old and is a cocker spaniel/pekingese mix that we adopted 6 months ago.  He is ALL BOY.  He is rough and tumble and will play with you until you drop from exhaustion.  Unlike Harley- he likes nothing more than being in your lap as long as you have a hand on him.  Also unlike my gentle soul little girl, Auggie has some bad habits (jumping up on you, chewing and he just discovered digging-sigh) and is quickly getting used to hearing the word NO.  What we have to work on is that No means stop completely- not just when Mom or Dad is watching-lol. 

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Yesterday I unloaded the pieces to put together two new fixtures in my store.  It was early in the morning and I wanted to get it done so I did a lot of in myself.  Not the smartest move I have ever made.  Between the lifting and moving and the "window" of the cab falling on me- I managed to hurt myself.  I had finished and was in my office typing when my back seized up.  I seriously felt like I had been hit with a baseball bat and it hurt to so much as breathe.  I haven't felt that sharp of pain in a long time.  Unfortunately, I couldn't leave as I was supposed to be meeting with my client at 4pm.  Fortunately- I always carry spare tramadol and flexeril and was able to take them to slightly dull the pain until I could get home. 

When I did finally get home, I was in a foul mood.  So foul that when I spoke to my husband before leaving work- I jumped right down his throat.  I was in a lot of pain, I was exhausted and I had stayed all day at work for a meeting that had ended up having to be rescheduled about 2 hours before it was to happen.  It doesn't excuse how I handled my mood but it's a contributing factor.  When I got home, I spent a few minutes with the dogs but not as is my usual routine.  The thing about having a pet is that no matter how crappy your mood, no matter what has happened, when you get home at the end of the day- they are just so happy to see you.  Their little tails wag like they will fall off, they come running to see you- they are just happy you are there.  Just seeing them softened my mood enough that when Jim got home I immediately apologized.  My honey forgave me, hooked me up to my TENS machine and sent me up to lay down.  I turned on my heating pad and gingerly lay down to let the heat do its work.  As I laid there, flipping through the channels and wallowing in self pity, I heard a little "boof" from my right side.  Miss Harley was next to the bed and wanted up with me.  I got back up and put her on the bed and before I could get comfortable again, Auggie was right there next to me.  While I had gotten Harley up- he had circled around to the other side of the bed and jumped up to join us.  Though it was what is usually their play time- both dogs had come up to join me on the bed.  They obviously knew something was wrong because they both snuggled up next to me and just laid there quietly beside me for the next hour.  Harley stretched along my leg and Auggie curled up in a ball at my rib cage and nuzzled under my hand so that my fingers were entwined in his silky fur.  Laying there with those two little creatures looking up at me with their big eyes full of love- I couldn't continue feeling sorry for myself.  I closed my eyes and gave thanks for these two beautiful dogs who were there comforting me when I was in so much pain.  That led to thoughts of how blessed I am that we found *these two* particular dogs when we did and that we were able to adopt them when we did and that I have such an understanding husband and how lucky I am  in the rest of my life too.  And before I knew it- the dark clouds over my head were gone.   In less than an hour, they managed to completely heal my soul and bring me back to a place of gratitude.  It didn't chase the pain away- but it did make it easier to deal with and put me back in the right frame of mind.  How could I not be thankful for that?   

  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Loved this...man's best friend