The healing power of stuff

[JaneV2.0]

A while ago a friend's cat suffered a serious injury and spent several days at the vet. When he got home, he recuperated in the dog's bed. The dog was concerned, so one by one he brought the cat his favorite things--bones, chew toys, tennis balls--until the cat was surrounded by tokens of his good wishes. Day by day, the cat regained his strength. The tubes came out, he began to eat...And soon, he was back to drinking out of the toilet and tangling himself in the computer cables. Seeing this, the dog took back his toys and his bed, obviously thinking "My work here is done."

[catherine]

What a great story. Gee, I have nothing add. I'm sure I'll think of some metaphor for human consumerist behavior but right I'd rather indulge of the pure sweetness of the story.

[iris lilies]

That is just great! Thanks Jane, loved it.

[awakenedsoul]

That's so sweet. My dogs have done the same thing. When my older Shepherd/husky was getting weaker with age, the younger shepherd, (a puppy,) would toss her this Christmas scarf toy that she loved. She'd also leave it in the older dog's bed. It was as if she was saying, "This always makes me feel better...here."

When I brought the puppy home from a visit out of town with my parents, she was overjoyed to be back. She went and ran around the yard as if to say, "My yard, my yard, my yard..." Then she ran in to lay in her bed and rolled around in ecstacy. (I use smaller travel beds for my dogs on the road.) Same with her food dish. It was so funny. She was so appreciative of the house, her belongings, and being home. I'll never forget it. She had been an abused stray. She was starving and pregnant when I adopted her. It makes a difference...

[Teacher Terry]

such wonderful stories:cool:. I love reading them.

[awakenedsoul]

I didn't realize other people's dogs were this way. After my older shepherd/husky died, I adopted another purebred German shepherd. The abused puppy I mentioned, Lana, was using all hand me downs. She had a 15 year old bed that I had mended, a dish from my deceased lab/golden retriever, and the same with her leather leash and collar. I was on a budget, and didn't see the need to buy anything new.
When I brought home Carlie, her previous owner gave me all kinds of expensive, high end dog stuff. She had a brand new fancy bed that was huge. She also came with a gorgeous crate, a special set of dishes to protect her back, huge cases of expensive treats, tons of toys, and several balls. Lana acted very hurt when she saw all of these fancy possessions . She really noticed. I didn't think it would matter to a dog. She preferred sleeping in the large plush bed from Costco, so I bought her one, too. (I kept the old ones for travel.) She was very appreciative. I guess dogs are more like people than I realized. (Keeping up with the Joneses!)

[razz]

Love these stories!

[Gardenarian]

Nice!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

What wonderful stories! Pets are so unique and have individual personalities. I can never understand how some people just lump them all together and say "just a cat" or "just a dog" as if they had no individual life. :(

[Spartana]

I LOVE that story Jane. Very sweet. When my dogs were sick or injured, one of my 3 cats (all gone now) would lay with the dogs and appeared to be trying to comfort them. He was a wild old stray unneutered male that adopted me (and the 3 dogs and 2 other cats) and ended up being a wonderful loving cat to all of us - once he was snipped that is :-)!

[jp1]

My sister used to have a dog, half shepherd/half rottweiler, that was generous with her stuff too. Every time I came to visit she'd see me, get all excited, and run to the bedroom and get her current favorite chewtoy and come running back and drop it in my lap because she wanted to share it with me to show how happy she was that I'd come to visit.

[awakenedsoul]

That's sweet. They are so funny! My purebred shepherd has this large rubber ball that is designed like a soccer ball, but sort of cage like. (It has holes in it.) She is so protective of that thing. She's had it for years, and carries it everywhere. If I come home and let myself in the gate, she'll run back and grab it and make this noise like "Mine." It's as if this ball completes her. If she's guarding the house, she'll run and get it and put it where she can see it while she's working. It's her prized possession. My other dog was given one, too. (A medium sized version.) She chewed hers up into tiny pieces. She plays with the other one, too, but seems to know that it is not to be chewed. The shepherd shares it with us, but you can tell it's a huge deal to her to give it up. It's funny how they do attach to their stuff, like we do. Would make a great cartoon for the New Yorker...