Little Bits of Crazy: And they call it puppy love

They don’t call them man’s best friend for no reason! You know who I’m talking about, the furry, affectionate and always loving pets; dogs.

Ever since I was six and got a puppy in place of a bunny on Easter, my family has always had a dog or three. My family has a big fenced in yard in the country perfect for big dogs to run in play and get all the exercise they need. When I moved from home I lived in various apartments spanning from Jasper, Toronto and Cornwall; none of them (to me) fitting of a dog. So naturally as soon as we moved from our apartment into our house in the country with a big back yard, I had my husband convinced a dog was needed within a month and a half.

So we welcomed Bailey, our Lab/Retriever, into our world and it has never been the same since. Bailey is currently around ninety lbs and thinks she is a lap dog or a human, depending on the day.

I always loved all my family pets, but I never understood the crazy connection (people talking about their pets like children) until we got bailey. She was a measly ten pounds when we got her and she grew tall so fast it seemed like her body would never stretch out to her height, but it did.

Bailey

Bailey, my husband and I had an immediate connection. I had found a picture of the most beautiful blonde fluff balls online and decided to call to see if they had any left, bailey was the last short haired female they had, so we made the drive to Hawkesbury (forty five minutes each way). We walked into the house and a herd of puppies came running at us, hard to choose right, I did not see many short haired dogs in the pack so I looked around. As soon as this one little puppy was sure the others had distracted the humans she made a dash for the table where the treats were struggled to get up and then grabbed the whole package and tried to make her run for it. I snatched her up looked into her eyes and asked her if she wanted to come home with us, I got a puppy lick right across my face (we took it as a yes) and that was it. On the car ride home bailey slept on my lap while stretching one or her paws out to touch my husband’s arm at the same time. That has remained her favourite place cuddled between the two of us.

At the time we got Bailey it was one of the first times my Mom and Dad hadn’t had a dog and there were only two dogs on my husband’s side. The day after we got bailey my mom and dad came to visit and within a half hour I was making the same trip with my family to Hawkesbury, there we got my families dog Zoey a crazy long haired version of bailey, after that puppies sort of fell into place every six to nine months. Now we have a whole family of crazy loving dogs, mostly crazy lol, you should see our get-togethers!

My Cuddle Bear Bailey

Now that I have had Bailey in our life for over four years now I can’t imagine it without her. She’s the best cuddler, my protector, she lays by be when I’m sad, guards me when I’m sick and is always so incredibly happy to see me every single time. My husband and I have yet been able to have children so Bailey has been an amazing surrogate. She makes us happy and gives us incredible unconditional love, without her my world would be a much darker place.

So it pains me when I go to pet stores and see puppies locked in small cages, commercials for abused animals or every time I drive past the OSPCA. I can’t imagine ever hurting an animal or getting one and not giving it the love and attention it needs.

So do me a favour, if you have a pet get it fixed the world does not need more puppies and kittens right now, there’s tons that need love. If you have room in your heart and home, adopt a pet they can give so much love and happiness to a family. If you can’t adopt a pet right now, but want to give some love try volunteering at an animal shelter or OSPCA or even donating, I know that they are always in need of all the above.

Even though they may be loud, animals cannot speak for themselves, so we have to speak for them. Share the love with a pet and I guarantee you will get more back then you ever imagined.

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

Lotsa Love,

Tasha