I am writing this blog as one of our furry children (age 9) is being rushed to the vet. 

He awoke in pain and not able to move. His painful cries had us racing to our family vet. Yes family vet because they really are our family. They know us well there and I am sure there will be a wing named in our honour one day. 

They know how much our fur kids mean to us, so they all know to do whatever it takes to make sure they are well cared for. 

This particular boy has been the backbone of my painful journey and I can’t express how much his furry nursing has meant to me and my husband. 

Our fur companions are more than our pets. To the ill they can become our world. They don’t judge. They don’t reject. They don’t say cruel things. They don’t hold grudges. They don’t care how you look. They don’t care what you own or how much money you have. They are your loyal and loving family for as long as they live. 

The bond between animal and human can be stronger than any other bond. I know this for myself and I feel blessed with first hand knowledge of their remarkable compassion and care. This bond has certainly been my touchstone all of my life and it became even stronger when I got sick. 

Ask any chronically ill person and they will either have a fur companion in their life or feel the sad loss of one. They are some of the closest relationships for those of us who have had major illness and life changing health battles. They play a key role in our will to go on. 

The limitless capacity of their love and devotion is what makes them all that we crave in life and all we should aspire to be as human beings. 

I can remember reading about the concept of spirit animals and I can’t help but feel that as humans we could all do with the spirit and nature of animals. We would all be the better for it. 

Tonight he is home from the hospital and very groggy from pain Meds. I feel emotionally exhausted from the fear and strain of not knowing what is going to happen… It is torture. 

I know I have learned a lot from the lives of my fur kids. I have learned devotion, patience, simplicity, happiness, contentment and loss.

I have also learned over these years that we all have our time on earth and we never know how long we will have left. In the end it’s not the years we have but the love inside them. 

I don’t know which way things will progress with my darling companion but I have a duty to make sure that he will have the best of our care and all my love until it is his time to go. That is the price we pay for a life time of their amazing love and devotion. 

And that is what he will get. 

And that’s what we all need as we travel this harsh and painful road with illness, we don’t know where it is going to take us but we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to love for as long as we can, with all that we have. 

And that is what I will give. 

Gentle hugs. 

Trish.