Gifts from Pets -- Through Life and Death

Written by Joyce Vissell and Narrated by Marie T. Russell There is a magnet on our refrigerator that reads, "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."                                                          -- Anatole France. Pets awaken our hearts in a way that nothing else can. Yes, human relationships are very important, but our pets can open our hearts in a quiet very sweet way that nothing else can. If you cannot have a pet of your own, perhaps you could bond with someone else's pet. Barry and I have had many pets, mostly golden retriever dogs starting when we were twenty-five years old. We have also had cats, and at one time had five cats all from the local shelter. Currently we have one feral rescued cat named Gertie, who lets us pet her and loves our company as long as we do not bring her inside. And we have two golden retrievers, Honey and Gracie. Our pets bring so much joy and peace to our lives. We always know that they will love us. Our dogs' greatest desire is just to be near us and walk with us and love us. Whenever I feel sad about something or need to feel peaceful, I go to our older dog Gracie who is very motherly and I bend down and hug her in a very big full hug. She stands there very patiently knowing that what is happening is very important. After I am done hugging her, I always feel better and then she looks up at me with her soft brown eyes and wags her tail in love and devotion... Continue Reading at InnerSelf.com (plus audio/mp3 version of article) Music By Caffeine Creek Band, Pixabay * Subtitles by InnerSelf Copyright 2021 by Joyce and Barry Vissell.