Describe a time when a pet helped you

[Anonymous]

There's a saying about how when you rescue a dog, it returns the favor. I'm experiencing this right now. After a tragic loss in my family, my dog, a rescue mutt "hound from the pound" that I adopted in 2021 has been comforting me through my grief. Without her snuggles, tail wags, and forcing me outside to take walks, I'd be in a very dark place. I also believe that dogs can sense grief. I know they don't have the same human emotions but I do think they can sense when something is wrong and they know how to provide comfort to their humans.

Of course, non-rescue dogs, and cats! can provide comfort as well. It doesn't have to be a rescue or even a dog... what are some times in your life that you can share when your pet has helped you in some way?

[Anonymous]

We adopted our retired racing greyhound in 2020. He’d never been a pet, never lived in a house, never slept in a bed, never had a toy, and his human interaction came exclusively from trainers at the track. We avoided seeing my elderly parents during the height of covid. Then we found out in 2021 that my dad was dying of an extremely aggressive cancer and he didn’t have much time left. I needed to help my mom care for him. After caring for my father for a couple weeks, it became apparent that the kids needed to come right away if they wanted to see him. My husband brought the kids and the dog. This was the first time my dog met my parents.

A few days later, a hospice nurse gave my father a drug she said would help with his anxiety, except he was on massive amounts of morphine and fentanyl, so it basically acted as a paralytic. We didn’t know Dad would be 100% incapacitated, so we’d had him lay down in a different bedroom while we made space in the master bedroom for the hospital bed that would be delivered the next day. We realized he was awkwardly sprawled on a twin bed (he was tall) and we couldn’t rouse him, let alone move him back to the master bedroom.

His breathing was shallow and I was really scared he was going to stop breathing overnight. I stayed on the floor, next to my dad all night (so my mom could get some sleep), listening to his breathing and occasionally getting up and trying to move him into a better position on the bed, even though he was dead weight. I’m my dog’s person, so he insisted on sleeping next to me on the floor. At that point, he had always made sure he was in the same room with me.

Around 6:00 in the morning, I felt pretty confident that my dad wasn’t going to stop breathing or fall off the bed, so I decided to get some sleep myself. When I got up off the floor, instead of following me, my dog moved to the spot where I’d been, right next to my dad. I called and called my dog to follow me to my old bedroom, where he’d been sleeping on his nice dog bed the previous few nights, but he wouldn’t budge. He stayed by my dad’s side the whole time I slept. It was like he sensed that my dad was very ill and needed someone. I was very touched that a dog who hadn’t been raised as a pet had that kind of perception, and realized that I was happier with his keeping my dad company than if he’d stayed by my side. He’s a good friend.

[Anonymous]

I have bipolar disorder which comes with a lot of depression. I got my little mutt as a puppy 8 years ago to help me get outside and walking -- she did that, and has been my loving companion ever since. She makes me smile. She gives structure to my days off. I can't imagine life without her. She has helped me tremendously over the years with her unconditional love. My new dog, Lucky's new sister Minnie, is a tiny toy poodle who also came from rescue. She had spent her life in a puppy mill and had a very hard time adjusting -- watching her persevere and grow has been what has gotten me through the last year when I faced challenges that also required persevering even though things were hard.

I love those two dogs so much.

[Anonymous]

My dog has the happiest buttwiggle. It's impossible to see her wagging her whole body in greeting and not feel seen and loved and appreciated.

My job is HARD, and at the end of the day, seeing my dog so delighted that I'm around makes everything happier.

[Anonymous]

Just now, cat cuddled up against me. Calm ensues. Blood pressure drops, I'm sure.

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid, my sister and I were lost in the woods near our house with the family dog. We had been walking for a few hours trying to find the correct trail back home. It was getting dark and cold and we were starting to panic. Finally, we got the idea to tell our dog to find our little sister who was currently home. We would routinely play a game where one of my siblings or I would hide and he would find them when we told him to find that person. When we told him to find our sister, he got so excited to be playing the game and pulled us the entire way back to the house to her.

[Anonymous]

I was dog sitting for a puppy - she was about 10.5 months old. I was walking her, and just as I was reading a sign warning to be aware of coyotes in a field up ahead, I banged my head really hard into a tree branch. I must have made a noise, and know I stopped walking. The puppy watched and waited for me. I wasn't bleeding, so I carried on with the walk.

A month later, the people asked me to dog-sit again. I took her down the same road and all of a sudden the dog was gently pulling me to the right, into the street. "Toodles, what are you doing?" She looked back at me, glanced up, looked at me again and grinned. I realized we were right near the tree branch - she'd remembered and led me away from it so I wouldn't get hurt.

[Anonymous]

I have depression and social anxiety. My dog gets me outside several times a day and people always stop to pet her and chat because she's so cute and friendly. I can go out into the world and have social interactions without feeling too awkward or self-conscious. Plus her happy tail wag and unconditional love make me smile. She really helps me and I am so grateful to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was a kid, my sister and I were lost in the woods near our house with the family dog. We had been walking for a few hours trying to find the correct trail back home. It was getting dark and cold and we were starting to panic. Finally, we got the idea to tell our dog to find our little sister who was currently home. We would routinely play a game where one of my siblings or I would hide and he would find them when we told him to find that person. When we told him to find our sister, he got so excited to be playing the game and pulled us the entire way back to the house to her.

I love this