My cousin Luciano once said to me, “I used to be afraid of dogs too, but once you have your own, and you raise them from when they are young, you will understand dogs more and you won’t be afraid of them”. I believed him, but at the height of my phobia I refused to enter his house unless he put Roxy in the backyard (God rest her soul, she was such a patient and loving dog). I loathed having to ask people to do this just for me because I knew how much they revered their dogs, but to what extent I would come to know only when I became a fur mom myself. Just like when you become a parent, it’s hard to imagine your life without them. As I sit on my bed and type away, the key board the only thing breaking the silence in my bedroom filled with natural sunlight, Luna is lying next to me peacefully asleep. What was life like before her? I don’t care to remember.
Soon after I overcame my fear of dogs I found myself entertaining the idea of getting a dog myself. I couldn’t mention it to my husband because he is a germaphobe and has said many times that if it can relieve itself on the floor and has fur that can shed it’s not welcome in our home. I never quite argued against this idea. I was never a fan of having a dog in the house that shed either. However, I left out one very important part of this story, my daughter Ms. G. She was born a natural animal lover. Any dog that crossed her path in life she cared for and loved with all her heart. Caressing their paws and ears and looking at them straight in the eyes as if she could communicate telepathically with them. She has been asking for a dog for a number of years, even before I overcame my fear. When she was in grade 2 she was asked to write a paragraph, a persuasive writing assignment, to convince her parents to do something, a topic of her choice (a devious assignment in my opinion). Of course, she chose why we should get a dog. The success of her assignment depended on whether she convinced us enough to change our minds. I didn’t express a strong opinion either way, knowing full well my husband wasn’t going to budge. She was so disappointed when we turned down her request. Her teacher told her to keep trying, even after the school year was over, because her teacher was a big animal lover as well (Ms. G didn’t eat meat for a whole year because she learned what a vegetarian was from that same teacher…again I didn’t contest this issue because after nearly 25 years of being a vegetarian I’m now struggling to eat meat myself due to health reasons…I never broached this subject with my kids, preferring instead that they make their own decisions about what they enjoy eating, however I knew Ms. G loved eating meat…but that’s a whole other topic).
Nearly two years went by, and one spring morning Ms. G was outside playing in the front yard with my husband. He came inside, looked me right in the eyes and asked, “Am I scarring our daughter for life by not getting her a dog?”. I asked why and he continued to say that he was outside observing her playing and talking to a ladybug and realized that although he himself was not a huge animal lover, his daughter was, and he didn’t want to damage her spirits somehow by refusing to get a dog (we always joke that Ms. G is our child from the 60’s). I sarcastically responded that he was not traumatizing her at all, as long as he was willing to pay for her therapy bills in the future. He looked at me half annoyed and slinked away, and told me over his shoulder to start looking for the smallest dog I could find, that does not shed!
Well, once you give me the green light on a task I’m interested in there is no stopping me. I went online and fell in love with the cutest most perfect puppy face, a teacup poodle, that does not shed!. Within 24 hours I had researched and made an appointment to meet, what would become our dog, Luna. The next day I walked into a room with about a dozen teacup poodles and teacup Maltese puppies barking away in a playpen. The seller asked me if I was able to pick out the dog I had put on hold over the phone. While the other puppies were barking for my attention I scanned the pen and there she was, paws tucked under her little snout, quietly waiting for me to catch her eye. She saw me approaching and sat up in a poised position, like a little princess, as if she knew I was there just for her. I pointed to Luna and the seller praised me for finding her so quickly. He scooped her up and placed her on the floor just outside the pen. She was the size of the palm of my hand. She continuously licked my fingers as I tried to caress the top of her head, and that was it. I had fallen in love. I took her home that day.
In the car a wave of doubt and fear came over me like a first time mom. I didn’t have any food or bowls or anything else for her. All I knew was that I could not wait to surprise my children. It felt like the longest school day ever. I stopped to pick up a small bed and some blankets at the pet store and set her up just inside the front door, so when they walked in she was the first thing they would see. I even took a pink ribbon and tied it into a bow on the outside door handle symbolizing the arrival of our new fur baby girl Luna! Ms. G cried tears of joy. She immediately recalled her grade 2 project and said she could not wait to communicate to her former teacher that she finally convinced her parents to get a dog. Instead, Mr. D was cautiously surprised. He was initially opposed to getting a dog (heavily influenced by his father no doubt) but had come around to the idea after Ms. G began persistently insisting almost weekly. Luna’s name was chosen from a list the children had made a week prior to our decision to get a dog. The children made a list of names and had settled on Luna if the dog was a girl and Lupo if it turned out to be a boy (they were tenaciously and overtly pushing the dog issue!). I should also add that my husband is now hopelessly and unapologetically in love with Luna as well.
A most common story of a family and their decision to get a dog. The extraordinary lies in learning just how much love and happiness an animal can give during the saddest and gloomiest of times. On her first birthday we celebrated in Florida, along with my husband’s 50th birthday of course, which is the day before Luna’s, on March 13, 2020. The calm before the storm. The pandemic would come to show us just how valuable Luna is to our family, and how pets sustain us through even the most crushing life experiences. The only way to repay my gratitude to her is to love, care, and respect her for the rest of her short time with us on this earth…and of course lots of head-to-paw massages!
Thoughts At F___ It Forties 