Adopt A Pet As A Companion.

Recently received an e-mail about a once active retired man who became withdrawn and grumpy to all, until his daughter got him an old dog for a companion. An act that changed both their lives and bought life back into the old man again.

It really is quite amazing what difference an animal can make in a person’s life. My parents always had at least one dog, occasionally 2, and usually anything between two to 6 cats on their smallholding (house and shed cats, that each knew their own places.). In their latter years, when the last cat and dog died fairly close to one another it was decided by them not to replace either because of their own age.

Then dad was real sick and hospitalized and not expected to survive, and it was suggested by one sister about getting a cat for company for Mum. Anyway Dad did come home again and was semi- mobile, but mostly chair bound for a while, and the cat idea was lost along the way.

A little while later I was with Dad at the Podiatrist and they were talking and quite out of the blue Dad said that his dog had died, cat too. The podiatrist had gotten the idea that it had just happened, as I would have too, if I had not known that it happened a good 6 months earlier.

Anyway shortly after that, my first born came home from work asking if I knew anyone who wanted a cat as one of her workmates had one but their Granddaughter had been diagnosed as allergic to cats and either their cat went or they would not get to see their granddaughter at their place again.

So remembering how Dad was missing the cat and dog, and my sister’s original enquiry about getting a cat, I rang my little sister with the idea and she put it to Mum, who said, “YES PLEASE’.

So we went and picked up the cat, (Oscar) and took him up to Mum’s. Apart from being well loved he was also quite independent and a little flighty, particularly around men. Well Dad took one look at it and said, “What did you go and bring that B****y thing here for. Followed by a few other mild objections about not needing to have another cat around. (Spoken in jest, but meant nonetheless.)

Well that attitude didn’t last very long. Within a week He was boasting about how the cat would always come up and around him as Dad was mostly stuck in his chair. In fact Oscar became so attached to Dad that Mum was a little miffed for a while, as Oscar was meant to be her cat. But Oscar and Dad had other ideas.

Oscar adapted to and adopted both Dad and Mum but was still a bit flighty of other people and especially my brother who lived with them. You walked in, and Oscar walked out rather quickly!

Well Dad and Mum have both passed on now and Oscar is still living at home with my brother, which I must admit was a bit of a surprise to me, as he has always been a dog lover and never a cat lover.

Well, saw them both the other day and brother says the cat is a changed cat and nothing like the Oscar of Old. Well, me thinks that it is brother who has changed too, with both Dad and Mum gone and him alone there, with just the cat. Who would have picked it? Not me!

So the moral of the story is if you are lonely, get yourself a pet to care for and to give you some attention in turn. You don’t have to get a pup or a kitten and go through all the training and destructive years, but you can get an older animal to adopt and maybe even save their lives too. No matter what age you are, you can adopt a pet. Even an ageing one too! One with personality, if not looks. Try a lost dog or cat’s home, or adopt a friend's but get one for both the sake of yourself and the pet. And all will benefit from this new relationship. What say you?