One of God's greatest gifts: dogs

Before non-dog lovers start on me, you can interchange 'dogs' with 'all pets.'

But, I'm going to go back to my first premise because I personally believe that one of God's greatest gifts to humans & the world is the dog.

If you read dog backward, hmmmm, you have god.

My family has had animals including dogs my entire life. We've had cats, birds, mice, hamsters, frogs, fish, you name it, we had it!

One reason I am not a huge cat lover is because our cat was an absolute terror climbing the curtains and attacking our bird! However, my Aunt has always had cats and hers are precious. They even named one of their cats after me, so I do hold a little love in my heart for the furry, purring pet!

All of our animals had character. One of our hamsters would get loose but we always knew where to find it, downstairs in the basement in its special little place.

My Mom was a saint because technically I am allergic to certain breeds of dogs but just love them all so. We'd get a dog and when they got older, after Mom trained them, we had to get rid of a few of them.

One of the dogs we had, a schnoodle, was a good fit but came from a bad breeder and died.

Oh, the stories we have over our entire lives!

Dogs (and all animals really) know when something is going to happen and sense emotions. They may not be able to speak but if you know your dog, they DO speak to you. They can tell if an earthquake or big storm is approaching by their antics --so watch your dogs!

They know if you've had a death in the family and are sad or if there is reason to celebrate.

My favorite dog, Katie, was the absolute best! She was a doll. My sister and Mom got her for my youngest niece but she quickly became 'mine.' I had a special call to get her to come to me....and when she really wanted something, she went to Mom because she knew who was boss and who'd get action!

Oh, I could go on and on with all the wonderful stories about Katie. She endeared herself to the entire family and anyone who met her. Just ask anyone who has looked through the 4 or 5 picture albums of Katie!

When she was a puppy, if you were laying on your stomach on the floor or couch, she'd pop up on you and sit smack dab in the middle of your booty! I can not even believe how small she was when we got her so many years ago! We gave her to Colleen for Christmas....

Dogs love unconditionally. They don't care the mistakes we made, how we look, what we have or don't have. They do sense when something is wrong and come snuggle with us.

My youngest niece has 2 dogs which used to live with us, so I have another special place in my heart for those girls.....but my oldest niece's dog has won me over as well!

About a month ago, little Zoey got sick. It was quite out of character for her but after a huge storm, which blew a bunch of stuff on the floor, she got into a few things she was not supposed to get into. She scared the bejeebers out of all of us. I can honestly say I was on pins and needles for 48 hours on the verge of tears every time I thought of what happened. Finally when I got the word that she was ok and home from the hospital, I just burst into tears of joy.

My friend from Tampa could not believe that I got so attached and emotional over a dog. Well, first, he's a guy and .....well, there's no excuse for anyone not treating a dog (or animal) as part of the family.

The last few weeks of Katie's life were awful. She could not walk and everything was shutting down. I'd carry her outside to try and do her business. I'd carry her everywhere. I hand fed her, if she would even eat. I took her to the vet every single day for them to give her an IV. Finally, they realized she was not going to get better. They really did not know what was happening with her system but could not cure her. She had medical problems, she was getting older and it was probably just her time to meet God.

When she died, we lost a family member, not just a pet. I carried a heavy heart for months. Not only had a dear friend moved out of the state but now my best friend had passed away. There were songs that came on the radio that reminded me of Katie that would make me burst into tears. I think it took about 6 months, at least, before I could listen to and sing this particular song all the way through tear-free.

I do know that Katie (and now Mom) are up in Heaven as my guardian angels. I could not make it through a day were it not for their support and watchful eyes.

All of these memories came flooding back as someone I consider to be a very, very dear friend lost one of his dogs this week. When I heard that he was sad, my heart dropped to the ground. I knew it could have only been one thing causing his sadness. This dog was so precious. What a great, loving animal.

I felt handcuffed to do anything to help. On one hand, I refuse to ever say "I know how you feel" yet I had a slim idea.

I know how I am when I am depressed or saddened. Sometimes you want to be alone, sometimes you need someone to embrace you. And many times you are so beside yourself, you can not even communicate what you need.

I tried contacting him but never got any responses.

My first inkling was to call but then I hung up the phone thinking maybe he does not want calls right now.

I have a way of second guessing myself and never doing the right thing. I don't know if I helped him in anyway with my written thoughts of encouragement. I feel as if I failed as a friend with this crisis. I know that losing a pet is just as traumatic as losing a human friend.

I can only hope that his pooch is guarding over him right now from Heaven taking away some of his grief and that God is taking away the rest of his sadness. And if he needs me, I hope that he knows I am ALWAYS there for him. All he has to do is reach out, and I will be there.