by: Jenni Vinson
June 1, 2001
I imagine that when God asked Adam to go through the process of naming the animals He had made, Adam must have been endeared by some of them and her began man’s need for having close companionship with our animal friends. Humans have managed to befriend all types of animal - lions, tigers, bears, birds, fish, snakes, spiders, rats, weasles, mongooses and, of course, dogs and cats. I recently saw a dear friend who’s mother passed away and their dog is having a very difficult time adjusting. She is pinning away for his mom, refusing to eat and behaving as if she was very much in mourning. His account reminded me of how much our pets mean to each of us. We just often stop to consider how much we must mean to them. Relationships are always a two-way street. They play as much of a hand in picking us as we think we do in picking them. I have been listening to pet stories since I was young girl and I have since lived through a few pet stories of my own. I remember the story of a cat who slept next to one of my uncles. When to went to Basic training, that cat missed him greatly and spent his days waiting for my uncle’s return- sitting by the street. My grandmother kept parakeets and some of them lived to be well over 15 years old. I remember her talking to them and them responding. It gave her such joy to be able to evoke that reponse from them. She was so careful with them. She kept them very clean and she never altered their diet.