Do you ever get reminded in some small profound way how amazing life is? You know, some moment of awe that reminds you there is still good and still mystery, and even in so much disarray, there is still a sort of rhythm and perfection available to us. And I don’t mean the grand moments with the epic soaring musical soundtrack. I mean the small, catches you in the back of the throat, blink and you might not have noticed moments.
My most recent one came in the form of two dogs and a cat.
I thought pet therapy was basically nice, well-behaved animals that let you pet them until you felt better. But now, I think it’s more than that. I think animals suited for this type of thing have a sense and wisdom that they’re able to give to those in need.
I had a work meeting at a local center that supports child victims of severe sexual and physical abuse. Part of the meeting was to have a tour of the facility and hear about their work. I have worked in social services for a couple of decades now so I’m not a novice at this sort of thing and was doing fine, though of course the subject matter is gut-wrenchingly painful. On this day there were four dogs at the center as pet therapists.
I love dogs and don’t have one right now so I was happy to see them. Not one of the dogs was very interested in seeing me. Okay, fine, be that way. I had nice pants on and didn’t need the dog hair. (sniff sniff, I’ll be fine.)
As the tour progressed, there were several moments where I got triggered. One, because the information was painful and, two, because I have some personal experiences that made me extra sensitive to the children I saw and the information being shared. I carried in my coffee which was a useful prop at some key moments when I thought I might cry. I gamely held it together, but inside, the storm was brewing.
As we went back to the area where the dogs were, two of the dogs came up and nuzzled me. One my leg, one my hand. The larger shepherd kind of leaned into me. I know it was because they detected the shift in my equilibrium. While my lopsidedness didn’t show to anyone else, the dogs saw it and helped prop me up.
It was a moment of genuine compassion from them to me. It was unexpected and lovely.
I drove home, still a little rocky, and the neighbor’s cat was visiting. He was curled up on the couch on our sun porch (there is a cat door he uses) and I joined him there. It was like the friend who calls out of the blue on the exact day you really needed them. The cat hadn’t been over to visit for weeks.
Just one of those tiny little moments when God, The Force of Good With No Opposite and Creator of the Universe, shows up in the form of two dogs and cat.
(The image above is of Dallas and Aspen, two of my best pets. Both have passed on.)