Support from Furry Friends
Feb 10th 2008PostmasterQuality of Life
I got a new puppy yesterday! It has brought an immeasurable amount of joy into our house. We have always had one or two dogs who have truly been part of the family. This puppy makes two again, so we have our hands full.
We got our older dog about three and a half years ago. At the time, about a year after my diagnosis and treatment, I felt that I needed a “therapy dog”. The idea was that a dog would give me something to focus on that was totally stress free. And it worked! Since my cancer, I have been working hard to live life to the fullest and, while it is a journey, I am making progress. But it does takes work and the stresses of day-to-day living, my career, and the always-there fear of recurrence can take their toll. Often, down-time is hard to find, especially for Type A personalities who always have to be doing something (like blogging). It’s a well-known phenomenon that pets have a calming effect on their owners so that alone is a good thing for stressed-out cancer survivors, but the other thing is that pets (if you love them) require a lot of attention and that takes your attention away from everything else. Taking them for walks, feeding them, grooming them or just playing with them allows you to focus on nothing but them. No matter what I’m doing, if it’s with a dog, I’m not thinking about work or cancer, or anything else. I just feel good. And if I’m feeling down, cuddling with my dog makes everything seem wonderful.
When I die, I want to come back as a dog in a loving home.
Posted by Doug (dedicated to Maggie)
