"How My Pet Helps Me!"
My cat "Tinker" came to live with me because my grandaughter has asthama/allergies. I`d been around him since my daughter had found him in the woods nearly dead. She took him home, bathed and fed him and he couldn`t eat. The Dr. put him on a good pet food and today he weighs over 20 lbs.,his long black coat and beauitful green eyes grab your attention.
The only problem I have is- I don`t think he knows he`s a cat. He lives in my lap or wrapped around my legs while I`m trying to cook,or worse,waking me up at the crack of dawn
He`s a talker, lets me know when he wants his meat, or if he isn`t satisfied with his litterbox- it must stay spotless, and he grows panic if his dry food gets to the bottom of the bowl. There`s a different "meow" for each of these. Words cannot describe the joy he`s brought
into my life.He makes me laugh, a soothing medication for my stress.NINA I first met my little kitty, Bailey, on Oct. 20, 1996 at the SPCA.
My
sister had just gotten married and moved out, and I wanted someone to
keep
my company.
Well, Bailey did more than that! She became my best
friend.
When I was feeling sad or low, and didn't feel like talking to anyone,
I
would pick her up, bring her to my room and she would fall asleep on my
legs.
That made me feel so much better than anything else.
When I made the decision to move from Canada to the US to marry my
husband,
I could not leave Bailey behind.
She came with me on the 3 hour plane
ride.
She was very scared when we first arrived here, as there were 3 more
pets
awaiting our arrival!
Hobbes the dog, Kitty the cat, and Weasel the
ferret.
Bailey was so afraid at first of her new friends, that she hid under
the bed
for a long time.
But soon enough she made very good friends with them,
especially Kitty.
They now play with each other, sleep by each other,
and
make messes together!.
I am at home now for awhile, until I can work legally in the US.
My
pets
really help me get through the day.
I am never lonely when they are
around.
They keep me constantly laughing.
They show me how to love
unconditionally,
and without limits.
They are my kids, my best friends- I love them
dearly!!.. KERRII have had Kitty now for 14 years and she has brought such joy to my life.
I call her my little angel from God. When I
first got her back in February
1985, she was only 6 weeks old.. The people we
got her from were not very
clean with how they fed the litter of kittens..
They would put out pots of
food for the cats and kittens to eat out of..
So, I asked if I could take
her earlier and the owners let me have her..
When I got her the poor little
thing had stomach problems, so I called the dr.
and he told me what to do to
get her regulated.. Then, I got a big bowl and
put some nice warm water in
it and gave her a bath.. She was so little and
cute.. I took her in my room
and dried her off and she laid down beside me and
went to sleep.. I fell in
love with her that day..
She has been with me through thick and thin..
When I have been at my most
panicky times, she is right there to comfort me
with those beautiful green
eyes and her lady-like manner.. She lays down
beside me and purrs and lets
me snuggle into her thick fur.. It's so
comforting to know that she loves me
as much as I love her.. I pray that the Lord will
allow her a long long life
free of any pain or disease..
My niece, whom I live with has a kitty of her own
named Rosie and Rosie
chases Kitty though the house trying to get her
to play, but Kitty just
hisses at her and fusses.. But, at night and
some during the day, they get
in a little "kitty apt." that I have right by the
window and snuggle too..
It's so cute to see their little faces laying
beside each other.. I am so
happy for the day the Lord blessed me with Kitty,
my little angel..!.. DONNAOh, yes, pets are my lifesaver.
My cats are what
keep me sane. They
are always there for me, their purrs comfort me,
stroking them relaxes
me, taking care of them empowers me,
communicating with them challenges
me, my cats are my best friends!.. DEBBIEI was officially diagnosed with panic disorder two and a half years ago.
Soon after, I got a kitten. She is a
tortoise shell, and I would
be lost without her. My husband doesn't
particularly like her all that
much, my 3 yr old likes to pull her tail, my 4
yr old is just starting
to pet her, but she showers me with all the love
I could possibly want
from an animal. Her purrs are so soothing to the
soul. She is very
un-graceful, unlike most cats, and when she rolls
over and falls off the
bed in the night I get to laughing and all fear
is gone. She jumps back
up and looks at me like I am nuts, which makes me
laugh even more. When
I am in my recliner reading, she gets very
jealous. She bites the pages
of my book until I pay attention to her. She
also loves to take showers
with me. She licks the water off the shower
walls, and doesn't seem to
care that she is getting soaked! I have thanked
God many times for her,
and have asked Him to allow her to be with me for
a long time to come.
She is a true blessing. But she is not my only
blessing. I have two
female Russian Dwarf hamsters that I take out and
hold often. The Lord
sure has made a neat variety of critters to be of
help to humans!BECKI Ben my black lab came to me one night when his mother Jane gave birth to a large litter of black lab puppies.
Jane had a
hard time delivering Ben
since he was a very large pup. He stood out in
the litter and for many
who came to give homes to the other puppies often
asked for Ben. I had a
fondness from the beginning for this pup, I had
to had deliver;
Boldly telling them he was not for sale.
Thus started the long relationship between me and
my large lab who
became my constant companion. When Ben was
fourteen months old he was
hit by the mail mans truck. Dragging his body
home I rushed him to the
vet. The shoulder was shattered, but my friend
Rick said he could bolt
the pieces to the shoulder together. Ben would
probably be
disabled. The surgery was a success and Ben
pulled through. They did X
rays on him for the shoulder and it was at this
time we found out he
also had hip sock which was not developed and he
would not be able to do
most activities dog love. The vet again asked
me if I still wanted to
keep Ben since he would be disabled the rest of
his life. Again I said
yes for whatever life was his he would live it to
the highest level he
could. Ben went everywhere with me, he traveled
the whole United States..People
always remarked what a well mannered dog
he was. Ben's life was one
with pain in his shoulder and hip, but he never
showed his discomfort.
He was always loyal and by my side. It was in the
early nineties when I
became very ill with Panic anxiety and found
myself housebound that the
dog was a life saver. Laying beside me day and
night he would not leave
me. As my psychiatrist helped me with medications
and therapy to start to
re enter the world it was Ben who was my �safe
person.' Traveling
everywhere I went as I learn to drive again and
start to function.
Talking to him, his brown eyes would look up at
me and say, I survived
so can you. I did one step at a time and in eight
months I was again
free.
Two years passed and the older Ben got, the more
crippled his life became,
full of pain. The shoulder was fine, but his hip
was gone. Ben never
complained, but I could see his eyes had lost
some of the zest. There
came the day when he no longer could move at all
without sever pain. The
vet gave him medication, but it was not helping.
His heart was still
fighting for life, but his body had simply given
out. Looking down at
him one day I knew the decision I had to make. He
had always been there
for me and now I had to be there for him. The
greatest gift I could give
to him was release from the pain and disability.
I hugged him one last
good bye as my husband took him to the vet. The
house was so quiet
without him and everywhere I went there were
memories.
We had a new lab
now; one who we adopted before Ben died. It was
not the same. One day my
husband came home carrying a box beautifully
decorated with a single red
rose on the top. Ben is still with us in spirit.D.L.HURLEY...copywrite 1999My experience with pets is that they take away some of the focus on the self that tends to cause anxiety and panic, be it conscious or unconscious focus.
The reason is, in my opinion, because of
the compassion people with
anxiety disorders tend to feel towards other
creatures, be they human or
otherwise. In the case of pets, their survival
and well-being is placed in
the hands of their owner, and who, who has
suffered, would wish the same
for others?
I myself enjoy only the non-human company of
two fish at present. Though
they are small, and quite easily cared for, I
find delight in knowing that
they are okay. I find it's the same for plants,
to tell you the truth.RICHARDMy dog's name is Mollie.
She doesn't have a
pedigree. Some people tactfully call her a mixed
breed; others insensitively call her a mutt.
But to me, she is the most valuable dog in the
world. She is worth more than rubies and
diamonds. She is my support dog. She makes it
possible for me to go on long walks without
depending on people. She is always available and
always willing. Sometimes I am too busy or just
don't feel like walking, But she whines and heads
for the door. Reluctantly, I snap her leash on
and out we go. When we return, we both feel so
much better. I'm thankful she motivates me and
is always there for me.JANETI have been agoraphobic for a long time and I've had two other very loyal dogs during that time so I'll just concentrate on my current buddy.
Casey is a seven year old Shetland Sheepdog;
like a little Lassie.
He's tri-colored.
My buddy serves many purposes in my struggle
with agoraphobia. First
of all, he's totally non-judgmental and he really
doesn't care if I'm nervous
or not. Now, this may seem like a very small
point but I have found that
those of us with this condition tend to think
that we are always being judged
and we worry terribly about what others are
thinking of us.
If Casey thinks I'm a little "out there" he's
never said so!!! LOL
I've also found him invaluable when I venture
out. Having a leash to
hold onto and a dog to divert some of that inner
focus is a simple but
wonderful tool for handling panic. Also, if I
find that I have gone a bit
further than I'm comfortable with, it's very easy
to simply tell someone the
dog needs to go home & be fed or such.
Another very helpful thing is that a pet
requires a certain amount of
attention: being fed & watered, grooming, letting
him in and out and cleaning
up after him. As an agoraphobic I have often
had times when I felt useless
or that I couldn't do anything. A pet REQUIRES
some minimal care at all
times so this is a bit of a day-by-day incentive
to get out of bed and, at
least, DO SOMETHING to take care of your dog.
And, when one of those bad attacks do happen, I
have always found
that my faithful friend will sit by me, let me
hug him and even cry softly in
his fur when all seems to go poorly.
The only way I would discourage pet ownership is
if your condition is
such that the animal would truly be neglected
because you are possibly
limited to a single area in your house or you
have extended periods of time
when you are not functional. Even in that case,
I think I'd suggest perhaps
a smaller or "lower maintenance" animal.
All I can say is, I thank God for the pets of
this world who bring
much love to all of us. LINDAPETS CAN BE VERY HELPFUL AND SEEM TO REDUCE STRESSES.
LUIGI
