Moments that melt your heart

Having pets can be a lot of work. Just consider my pet-related schedule for today. By the end of the day I will have taken my dogs for literally 5 walks. First thing in the morning and at night the weather is too cold for the them so I put on and take off not only leashes but also doggie sweaters. One of them has skin sensitivities, so we do an extensive paw wipe every time we get home. At noon I drove them to a nearby park so the walk can be more entertaining. I am right now doing a second load of laundry of doggie towels, blankets, and the like. And in the meantime I'm cooking some chicken for them. As I said, a lot of work. But the amount of work involved in having pets is in no way comparable to the joy they bring into our lives. Today, I have been reminiscing about some of the sweetest moments I've shared with my current pets. If you haven't done so yet (or recently), please consider adopting a pet and you are guaranteed to have so many heart-melting moments of your own.

Charlie, my Mom's blind cat, was rescued from the streets of Bulgaria. I literally put him in a carrier and headed to the vet where his eyes were examined and it was confirmed they would need to be removed. He stayed at the clinic for observation for a couple of days and came home the week we were heading back to the US. Heart-melting moment: the first time this tiny, blind ball of fur, who had never known a home or toys, played with his toy mousey. He could hear and touch the mouse and that was enough. Charlie's movements were tentative at first, he didn't know his surroundings so he bumped into a couple of things. But in spite of it all, he was just a kitten craving play time. I cried watching him do that. And I knew he was a survivor!

My pup Tigger has always been very food-motivated. One time when he was still little his interest in food got him in a unique kind of trouble. I was offering him a treat and he came running over to get it. Unfortunately, being in such a hurry he misjudged his jump and instead of getting on top of the couch, he sort of crashed into it. He gave out a whimper and I was immediately by his side, his treat on the floor next to us. No, Tigger was not in any way injured. Of course, I thought he'd 'console himself' by devouring the treat. Instead, he gifted me with a heart-melting moment: tiny Tigger climbed into my lap and curled up for a few minutes, as I was petting him and talking to him. Only after he felt better did he wiggle his way to the treat. At that moment, I knew that the comfort of mama's hugs had become more important than even food!

My Mom's cat Latte is a very shy boy. He is incredibly sweet but his little heart gets worried by unfamiliar sounds, sights, and people. Socialization takes time and I had all the time in the world for Latte. He would at first hide and not come out at all while I was visiting. Gradually he started making a brief appearance in my presence but maintained a solid 5-foot radius around me. I made it a habit to sit down on the living room floor and talk to them so Charlie and Latte can visit with me, if they chose to. Latte kept inching his way closer to me, at a pace of no more than 2 inches a month. It was going to be a long road. And then one day the heart-melting moment came: Latte not only had bridged the distance but he actually came over sniffing my face and his tiny pink nose touched mine. That touch gave me goose bumps because of how much trust it represented and how persistently both me and Latte had been working to get to that place.

I adopted my pup Julie on a Saturday morning. Circumstances were such that I wasn't able to take any days off from work to spend extra time with her and Tigger. I had stayed with them the whole weekend, watching interactions, redirecting play, setting boundaries. In spite of that, Monday came too soon and I was anxious as I left for work. I don't crate my dogs so even though I had puppy-proofed the part of my home they had access to, I could come home to a disaster. Even though Tigger and Julie had gotten along well during the weekend, they were still relative strangers to each other so they could have gotten in a bad fight while I was away. Julie could be put off by my extended absence - pups can definitely suffer from separation anxiety, especially if the relationship is brand new. So I came home a little early, with butterflies in my stomach. I was not prepared to have my heart melted: not only was there no chaos and no injuries at home, but I opened the door to see Julie fiercely wagging and coming over to lick my hands in greeting. She had accepted us as family, this was just the beginning of a wonderful life together.