Because They Trust Us

 


Why is it that our love and worry for our animals can overcome us to the point of crying?

This morning I had to bring our little dachshund mix to the vet for teeth extractions, a cleaning, and the removal of a mass on his back. He shook in the car as we drove to the veterinarian and looked at me as if I were sending him to an awful fate.

We had to stop food and water at 10:00 p.m. last night. This morning he nudged me as if to say, "Where is my breakfast?" Drop-off was at 6:30 a.m. — so early and so unlike our usual routine.

The thing about our pets, and it can be both a curse and a blessing, is that they don't know what's going on. Unlike humans, they don't understand surgery, anesthesia, recovery, or that temporary discomfort may lead to better health. Augie didn't know that we were trying to help him. He only knew that he didn't get breakfast, that his morning routine had changed, and that his people were taking him to that place that he doesn't like.

Perhaps that is why we worry so much about them.

Our pets trust us completely. They don't question our motives. They don't understand the decisions we make on their behalf. They simply believe that we will keep them safe. When we hand over a leash at a veterinary office or leave them for a procedure, we carry the burden of understanding while they carry only trust.

For my entire life, I've lived  with animals and I know that they are never "just pets." They are companions through ordinary days and extraordinary ones. They greet us at the door, curl up beside us when we're sad, celebrate our return from even the mailbox, and somehow become woven into the story of our lives.

Maybe that's why tears come so easily when they are hurting or frightened. We love them deeply, yet we cannot explain what is happening. We cannot tell them that the surgery is necessary or that the discomfort will pass. We can only kiss the top of their heads, tell them we love them, and trust that somehow they feel it.

As I wait for the phone to ring today, I realize that worry is simply another form of love. The more precious someone is to us, the more we fear losing them or seeing them suffer.

And if you've ever sat in a veterinary parking lot with tears in your eyes while your dog looked at you with complete trust, then you understand exactly what I mean.

Comments

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Comments are welcome!

Popular posts from this blog

A Mother’s Legacy: Remembering My Mother This Mother’s Day

Image
  Today, while sorting through old photographs and yellowed newspaper clippings, I came across my mother’s obituary. She has been gone for 22 years and yet, somehow, I still feel her presence. Obviously not in a way you can touch or see, but in the guidance that still appears when I need it most. It's in the lessons she taught without ever sitting us down for a formal lecture. It’s in the love that never really leaves us, even after someone is gone. Her obituary described her simply as a “homemaker.” Just one word. But anyone who has ever truly known a mother or grandmother understands that the word homemaker barely scratches the surface. Before marrying my father, my mother had an excellent career in publishing. She was intelligent, capable, organized, and professional long before those qualities were ever recognized in an obituary. Like many women of her generation, she stepped away from one career and unknowingly began another, one that would shape an entire family for...
Read more

When Connection Isn't Immediate

Image
  A place to sit with the day  This morning, I wrote about my yoga intention of being brave and taking a step forward.  Later in the day, I was reminded that sometimes that step doesn’t lead to where we expect.  There are moments in life when we reach out sincerely, simply hoping for connection and sometimes, nothing comes back right away. There’s a pause, a space that can feel larger than it really is.  In that space, it’s easy to start questioning ourselves.  Did I say the wrong thing? Was the timing off? Should I have done things differently? Our minds can play tricks on us and fill in the blanks far too quickly. But perhaps that space is not ours to carry. Perhaps it just is what it is. A moment that didn’t align. A response that didn’t come. A reminder that it’s not a reflection of our worth, but a reflection of timing, circumstance, or where someone else may be in their own life. So we remind ourselves that we can be kind, respectful, ...
Read more

Still Me

Image
  Yesterday I found myself thinking about the ten year old girl I used to be. Today my thoughts moved forward again into another stage of life and what love has meant along the way. It’s funny how our minds sometimes wander back to earlier chapters of our lives. Moments when everything felt new and full of possibility. Like springtime. There is a kind of ache or yearning that can come with those memories, and for the longest time I couldn’t quite name it. Maybe it is my age now but I think I figured it out. Sometimes the yearning we feel when we look back at earlier moments in our lives isn’t about another person at all. It’s about who we were when we were living in that moment. It’s about missing the version of ourselves who lived there. There was an innocence and openness in that time. A belief in possibilities that felt natural and unguarded. So it isn't always about missing another person. For me it's missing the young woman who believed so fully in what life and love mig...
Read more