My Wonderful Pets

I’ve always been an animal lover. When I was a kid, my parents had to watch me very closely because I would run up to any animal with open arms. When I was four, I approached a huge dog with a bad temper and got a nasty bite on my forehead. The scar still glows pink whenever I cry or over-exert myself. Even a bad experience didn’t stop me from loving animals, especially dogs.  

In October 2002, I got Peyton, my Shih Tzu dog. He has been absolutely precious from day one. He’s very cute, cuddly, and extremely tolerant. Whenever I am sitting or laying down, he’s right beside of me, as close to me as he can get. When I get up to walk around, he’s right behind me. If I don’t hear the “tap tap tap” of those little nails on the wood floor, I get worried and wonder where he is.  

In the Fall of 2003 (I can’t remember the exact month/day), I got Shelly my cat. My former manager gave her to me because Shelly was not meshing with the other cat in my manager’s house. I remember bringing her home in her carrier and sitting her on the bed. I just opened the door and let her come out on her own.  As soon as she came out of the carrier, we bonded and we’ve been big buddies ever since.  

My pets have been very entertaining and comforting for me over the years. They’ve been with me through divorce, moving, re-marriage, and sickness. When me and John went on our first official date, he met my pets and I told him point blank “love me, love my pets…” He was raised around dogs, so he bonded with both animals, Shelly first. Peyton was a little more protective and guarded regarding me, but after a day or two, he warmed up to John and learned to trust him. 

Peyton just turned 10 and Shelly turned 9 in June. I know that technically, they are both considered “seniors.” It scares me to think about that because they are with me all the time, so I know I’ll be lost for awhile when their time comes.  

Tuesday night while I was at my breast cancer support group meeting, Shelly got very sick. John called me in a panic and said that every breath was difficult and she was making weird hiccup noises. Well, Shelly is very hairy and sheds a LOT, so at first I just brushed it off as a hair ball. However, when I got home and saw her, I knew right away it was no hair ball. She could barely walk and she was so weak. She never lets us carry her for longer than 30 seconds, yet she let John carry her and hold her. We decided to take her to the vet. We called ahead so they would be expecting us. They met us at the door and took her back immediately. They said that she was in severe respiratory distress and that cats do not handle breathing trouble very well. They said she might not even make it through the night. They took chest x-rays which revealed several lesions on Shelly’s lungs. My heart sank. All the stupid cancer crap that’s been going on with me hasn’t been enough?? Now my poor helpless cat has it too?? We were devastated.

Yesterday morning, we brought her from the emergency vet to our regular vet, who consulted a veterinary oncologist at UT in Knoxville. My vet kept her all day yesterday and medicated/observed her. The vet onco at UT read her x-rays and told my vet that he was very confident it was NOT cancer. In fact, they really are not sure what those spots are. They are mineralized, almost like bone and could be scar tissue. The vet said there was a very remote possibility that Shelly had bone cancer and that it had metastasized to her lungs, but the x-rays showing her bones don’t support that theory. So he diagnosed her with asthma and said that Tuesday night’s episode was a severe asthma attack. If we hadn’t gotten her to the emergency vet when we did, she would have died. So now, she’s on steroids and antibiotics. She’s feeling much better.  

I was fully expecting not to bring Shelly home from the vet yesterday. I thought for sure that the onco vet would come back with a cancer diagnosis. I had already made up my mind that I would not put her through any harsh treatment. She was suffering so badly Tuesday night that we almost authorized the emergency vet to put her to sleep. However, I wanted our regular vet to see her and give his opinion. I’m so relieved that she does not have cancer and as long as she lets me give her the meds, she can survive a long time with asthma.  

People that don’t have pets probably won’t understand this post and may even roll their eyes. That’s okay. I know that animals are not humans and losing a pet is certainly not the same as losing a human family member. But pets are loyal companions that love their owners unconditionally. My pets have been so therapeutic for me, especially since I’ve been sick. I know that someday it will be their time to pass on. But for now, I’m enjoying every minute I have with them.