Animals Bless our Minds, Bodies, and Spirits
Dogs (pets) have a way of finding the people who need them, filling an emptiness we don’t even know we have. Thorn Jones
This past Halloween Eve, my husband and I began a journey with an approximately 14 week old female tabby kitten. The shelter who cared for her had named her Pumpkin and since she was adopted just in time for Halloween, we kept this name for her. After almost three months with our kitten, my husband and I are head over heels in love with her! We enjoy hearing her purr, meow, and jump on and off the bed. We are enamored as we watch her play with her stuffed mice, the Christmas tree (I have taken the ornaments off it but it’s still not in the attic!), and any strings she can find. Now our dearly beloved, Pumpkin, does certainly have her moments. One night recently, she managed to take the batteries out of the TV remote and Pumpkin woke us up several times as she rolled the batteries incessantly over the hardwood floors in the middle of the night. But even so, we still love her profoundly!
As a child and teen, I always had 1-3 dogs and when we were young we even had a cat until we discovered all of us, except my dad, were allergic to the cat. And so my parents found a new home for our cat. Since I left the nest for college, when I was 18 years old, I have been without a four legged creature. So for the past 21 years, I’ve either lived alone, with a roommate, or with my husband. I justified my decision to not have a pet by reminding myself I was not ever home enough for a dog, and then I assumed I was allergic to cats. But recently I took an allergy test and surprise of all surprises it determined I was actually allergic to dogs and not cats. I was shocked, since I had always assumed it was the opposite.
But even after the results of the allergy test, I still found many excuses why a cat might be a bad idea. I worried about the smell it might create in our home and imagined that cleaning up the kitty litter and cat hair may be too much for someone like me, who can be a bit of a neat freak. I also wondered if I was more of a dog person than a cat person, since I grew up with dogs and had so many hallowed memories of times with my dogs as a child. Since I’ve been in my 20s, almost all of my friends have had pets and yet I have been the person who kept coming up with excuses of why it was not the right time for me to get one.
But then one day, something in me told me to take a risk. I still had fears of what might go wrong and whether I would be a good pet parent, and yet I took the leap and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If you have a pet, perhaps you feel the same way I do. It did not take long to realize that Pumpkin has allowed something in my heart to soften. Anatole France said, “Until one has loved a pet, part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” I can resonate with this quote because as a child my dogs brought me a great deal of joy, and now as an adult I feel like my cat is helping to wake back up parts of soul.
Life with a pet involves falling in love. Just as we might fall in love with a significant other or a child, we truly can fall in love with our pets. Their curiosity, playfulness, acceptance, cuddles and love change us. Pumpkin has even helped me to be less uptight about the house being perfectly clean.
In my work as a counselor, I often help people identify coping mechanisms they can use during times of transition and grief and inevitably almost every client who has a pet, tells me about how their furry friends or even feathered friends, are helping them manage difficult times in life. They tell me their pet seems to sense something is going on with them and has been there to cuddle with them and care for them in their time of need. I’ve also had clients explain to me that since the inception of pet ownership, they have noticed they are less stoic and more apt to cry and be in touch with their more vulnerable side.
Perhaps you too have had a pet help you through a difficult time or like me, your pet has helped you find a softer side. If you do a google search on how pets help us, you will find articles that point to scientific research that has found how pets calm our nervous system, lower our blood pressure and cholesterol levels, help us to live longer, and strengthen our mental health.
I’m not saying everyone needs a pet. Maybe you have recently had a pet die and so you don’t feel emotionally ready for another animal. Additionally, there may be reasons such as allergies or finances that prevent someone from getting a pet. Or maybe you travel a lot and the time does not seem right for you to have a pet. But I am writing this article to remind us of the sacred gift of animals in our lives. If you don’t have a pet, maybe you can go to a zoo, a pet blessing service, or an animal shelter to tap into the power of connecting with an animal. There is something truly life-giving about spending time with these creatures that touches our mind, body, and spirits.
May we give thanks for the gift of four-legged friends,
Christy
