The best medicine

I often times feel that the world is becoming more chaotic. I am blessed to have a home that is a refuge from the chaos, and to share that home with my dogs. My dogs have proven to be the best stress buster and anti-depressant available.

Studies have shown that pets can be good for the health. Positive influences include a potential for improved cardiovascular health (though decrease in blood pressure), decrease in depression/social isolation, and an opportunity to be more active in general.

When my father was diagnosed with metastatic cancer, I worried about my mother. She and my father have been life partners in the true sense of the word. They have never had anyone but each other. I wished they had a dog. Something for them to both love but then to be there for my mother. Sometimes, wishes do come true.

A couple of months after my father's diagnosis, one of my dog's litter-mates was orphaned. Her owner, a single woman died unexpectedly of a massive MI. Emma is a special little whippet. Her first owner was a type I diabetic since childhood. As sometimes happens in long term diabetes, she lost autonomic nerve function. Although she tightly controlled her sugars with insulin pump, she didn't always sense that her sugars were low. (Symptoms of hypoglycemia include anxiety, palpitations, diaphoresis, nausea. When the autonimic nerves don't work, those symptoms may not be present). Emma was in tune, and would alert her owner to the hypoglycemia.

Emma is a small whippet. When I heard that she was orphaned, I thought she would be perfect for my parents. At first they said, "no." They worried about what they would do if Dad had to be hospitalized, they worried about not being able to exercise her enough, they worried about stepping on her in the middle of the night. After several extensive conversations, they agreed.

Unfortunately, after her owner's death, Emma became very ill. It's not clear to me what happened. She was in a foster home for about a month. She stopped eating and developed diarrhea. After a lot of dietary manipulations, she was deemed healthy enough to travel, but was a scary sight when she arrived in Texas. Whippets are skinny, but shouldn't be as thin as Emma was.

I kept her for a month. She gained weight, but still had horribly dry skin when I took her to my parents.

I was a little bit worried about her when I left. Since she could sense illness in her owner, I feared that she would not bond with my father. Initially, she bonded with my mother, but did seem reluctant to be around my father. However, he had also spent the first 2.5 years of her life with a single female. When her owner died, she had initially been taken to a shelter by animal control in a traumatic seizure that left her crate wary and also afraid of men.

Last weekend, I visited my parents. Emma is absolutely thriving. Her skin is no longer flaky. Her weight is good. She is still my mother's dog, but she obviously loves my father, too. I think she recognizes his problems. He has a painful neuropathy in her feet. She will jump in his lap, but avoids being underfoot. Saturday, when my father was sitting in his chair with his morning coffee, Emma sat at his feet and just stared at him, waiting for him to reach down to pet him. I wish I could have captured that on film.

Emma no longer fears the crate -- given their fears of stepping on her at night, they have crated her in their bedroom from the first day. Emma has crated beautifully in my parent's home. Now, she will crate herself when she thinks it is time for bed. Every time I call my parents, there is another delightful Emma story.

Emma has been the best medicine. She has brought laughter back to my parent's home.

Hug your hounds, love your humans.
Peace.