My Own Special Healers
 

     My 'Sadie-girl' is 12 years old and my 'Charlie-boy' is 5 years old. My two Goldens aren't being shown in the show ring. They aren't participating in agility trials. They don't have professional training, except for me taking them to the local SPCA obedience school. They aren't sent for professional grooming. They're just my wonderful, loving and extremely sensitive pets and best friends. The past 12 months they have also been my 'sanity.'
     I have been on disability for a year now recovering from a weird disease. I've almost always worked full time and been 'on-the-go' from sunup to sundown. Then this illness hit me and I went from that busy schedule to being home in bed or flat on my back on the couch. I also had a couple stays in the hospital including a surgery. On top of that, two months into my illness, I was told that I no longer had a job to go back to when I do get well. At age 55, the thought of going out and looking for a job is not terribly appealing. To say the least, I have had some times of real loneliness and despair.
     I'm married and have a wonderful, understanding husband, but he has to work everyday. My children, though grown, have been very supportive, but they too work and have family obligations. Most of my friends work during the day, which leaves me here at home with very little human contact during the daytime.
     Well, I have found that I have done just fine without that human contact, mainly because my best buddies have turned out to be my two faithful Golden Retrievers. They never cease to amaze me. They have sensed since day one of my illness that something was not right. They stick to me like glue and seem to know when I need that extra love and attention. They made me laugh when I felt more like crying. In the beginning, I felt lonely, but soon grew to know that I was not alone as long as they were there with me. When I was in pain and worried about them being too big or cumbersome, they were extra gentle. When I've had to lay down and rest, they lay down close by and watch over me. When I'm up and they sense I need something to do, they bring things (like one of my slippers, their favorite toy, a sock from the hamper, and sometimes if they can't find anything, they'll bring a piece of wadded up paper from the trash). Never chewing these things, but gently placing it next to me as if to give me a 'gift.'
     I am on the road to recovery now and I am finding that I have more energy and stamina. The first thing I did when I felt up to it, was play ball with them and take them for walks, even when I wasn't quite up to it. That's the least I could do for them. I whisper my words of love and thanks to them and give them all the hugs and I can, in hopes that I can let them know that they don't have to bring me material 'gifts' — They have given me the best gift of all and that's their unqualified love and devotion that I know comes straight from their hearts. They are the ones that have kept my spirits up and I know that has helped me through this illness and to get as well as I am today.