What I Learned from My Dogs

Pets have been part of our household ever since the day I was born. Each animal has taught me to show love in many different ways and take care of each one’s individual needs. However, my dogs have taught me unconditional love through how they are able to bring support and happiness through the toughest of times.

A couple of years before I was born, my dad went to find a puppy on a farm on the outskirts of Sydney for my mother. She was called Cherry and was my mum’s first “child.”I have memories of Cherry as a very young child, I used to enter dog beauty competitions with her in the local park. I remember running along the beaches in Australia and playing in the sand on hot days, and no matter what weather, always going on walks in the evenings. Cherry was my first and best friend.

When we moved to France, my dad got very sick and Cherry was getting quite old (and fat), so we decided to adopt a young energetic dog to bring the pack back to life. Her name was Abbie and was my brother’s and my first puppy. Cherry pretended to dislike her through jealousy, but secretly loved her company and enjoyed being top dog. We learned how to clean up after all the wees she left around the house and to never leave dirty socks on the floor. My dad gradually got sick to the point where he was unable to leave his bed, which waswhen Abbie would sit next to him all day and snore extremely loudly, whilst he would have one-sided political conversations with her about what was on the news that day. Since my brother and I were at school, and my mother at work, he would be alone all day and it was nice to know at least he had Abbie to snuggle up to. She was a great comfort dog and amazing lap dog.

At 15 years old, I realized how animals feel emotion just like humans do after my dad passed away and Abbie became extremely depressed. I could tell she was grieving with us and understood that my dad was not coming back. However, she still enjoyed snoring and sleeping all day, so she continued doing so by sleeping on each of our beds whenever we felt lonely, or on the sofa during the evening when we were home. It’s always nice having

some company whenever you wake up in the middle of the night. Since my dad was no longer around to take care of her, we also had to share the responsibilities, which helped us keep routines and go out on long walks in the countryside. Besides, there’s nothing more rewarding than watching your dog run around the fields rolling in wet mud having the time of their lives!

This only lasted a few months until we introduced Holly into the household, who is basically a big fluffy anxious wannabe guard dog. She loves protecting her garden from all the imaginary burglars in the neighborhood, and loved being bossed around by Abbie. I have noticed that dogs enjoy having other doggy siblings, as it gives them some competition and want to always be better than the other one. Although walking two dogs at the same time (especially a young bouncy puppy and a middle aged sedentary dog) is a lot more complicated and tiring than walking just one, the extra effort is totally worth it as you’re rewarded with double the cuddles and licks every day.

After moving to Canada when I was 18, I found it extremely hard to not come home to my dogs and like a lot students of my age, a few years of spending nights alone quickly turned into severe anxiety and depression. I took a break from university and went back home to recover. For about 6 months, my anxiety was so high I was unable to leave the house. My pets became my only company as I spent all day alone waiting for my mum to come home from work. They sat next to me the whole time, barking at my panic attacks and staying awake with me on sleepless nights. The hardest part of depression is feeling alone and not having anyone to care for. This is when I realized no matter how I felt or however many days I hadn’t been able to get out of bed for, all I had to do was look next to me and both Abbie and Holly would be by my feet waiting for our next move as a team, whether that be for going on a walk outside or a quick trip down to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, a couple of months later, Abbie passed away of old age, which made Holly and I extremely sad and affected me in a really big way. I missed her outrageously loud snoring and Holly missed fighting with her over who chewed on the bone or who was better at doing tricks to get the most treats. My mum was quick to see this and thought it was time for a puppy. We quickly found Rosie online and picked her up as soon as she was ready. Rosie had so much energy, I found myself going on runs outside (which I saw as unimaginable a few weeks prior) and Holly quickly sprung back into action as she had new bones to guard. Despite Rosie running around all day and having me wake up at 6am every morning to entertain her, she still enjoys snoring on the bed with the rest of us at the end of the day.

I have learned from my dogs (and all my other pets) how important they are for emotional support and love. They give us a reason to get up each morning and are always happy to see their owners no matter what their mood may be. My pets will always remain my best friends thanks to their loyalty, comfort and infinite patience. I once read an article on how dogs don’t see handicap or abnormalities, which I find to be a beautiful quality as they love and care no matter what, and are why they’ve earned themselves the phrase “man’s best friend”.