Companionship

Finding companionship with a furry friend!

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18-20, NKJV)

Pat and I always had dogs until we moved to Bakersfield. After 8 years of no dogs, we were both okay with being in a house with no pets. After Pat went to heaven, my house was very quiet and very lonely. In October I began exploring what kind of dog I might get as a companion. I wanted to do rescue so I spent a lot of time exploring my options.

On my trip to Texas over the Christmas holidays I ran into 2 wonderful greyhounds that lived with Pat’s Uncle Harve and his wife Sue. I had not really thought seriously about greyhounds until that night. I began doing a lot of research on the breed. I discovered there was a greyhound rescue group near my house in Florida. I planned a visit to see if this might be something I should do.

Upon arrival, I had to fill out my life history and be interviewed before I could see the greyhounds! Gizela was in the office and such a sweetheart. She was not up for adoption due to a heart defect, but she certainly was a great ambassador! After the interview, Joan told me there were several dogs available. She studied a moment and asked me if she could try out a particular dog with me. I said sure.

Joan came back with this huge brindle male greyhound who looked very sad. She told me his history – he had raced for 22 months and had spent 13 months at the rescue shelter. He had been set for adoption, but when he went out on the leash with the prospective owners there was a problem and it was apparent Drew did not approve of the prospective owners. Anyway, Drew came over to me and laid his head down in my lap! I sat with him a good while and then went outside in the fenced area with him. Later, came the leash test. I took Drew back outside on the leash and he started to pull away from me. I just stood still and he came back to my side. Joan was so glad to see this. So, the next step was for Joan, a handler and Drew to come to my house to see if it would be satisfactory for Drew. It was a good meeting – when Drew saw me he came over and laid down and turned his belly up to me! I was hooked!

Drew was very shy around other people. He wanted to stay as close to me as possible. When other people would walk up he would pull away. I would stand my ground and talk to my neighbors and their dogs. Slowly, Drew decided to see why I was not afraid. Slowly, one neighbor at a time, he became acquainted with all of them and their dogs! I was so happy he was becoming a social butterfly.

But the most amazing part of this journey was what was happening to me! I wanted to go for the walks to meet new neighbors and make new friends. Drew was the drawing card! And oh how much he loved me! It was just as if God had put us together!

A few months later I was informed that Gizela had been released by the vets for adoption and that I was on the short list of people they thought would be good for Gizela – she needed to be with another greyhound. Long story short – it was a quick adoption!!

Both of these greyhounds have found a spot in my heart and also given me the ability to get over my grief as a caregiver – I now have 2 sweet greyts to take care of and to love!

Did you know you can grieve from not being a caregiver? You can grieve over every loss, not just death, but failures, job loss, dreams lost, tragedies and the list goes on! My counselor encouraged me to write down every loss I had experienced and to see if I had grieved them or was I still holding on! Getting these 2 wonderful dogs revealed to me a pretty long list that I have been working through!

LESSON LEARNED: Man was not put on this earth to live alone. God provided companionship. While I did lose my perfect companion, my dear sweet bride, I did not lose God and He helped me with my loneliness through 2 wonderful greyhounds. Getting out and seeing other people is helping me down the path of the grief journey and taking away the loneliness!

“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, NKJV)