A republication of a post from 2012.
In yesterday’s post I mentioned that the first time I used a post title Affairs of the Heart was back in 2012. In fact it was January 20th, 2012. Many of you dear readers will, undoubtedly, not have read it then so here it is again. Both Hazel and Dhalia are now dead.
ooOOoo
Affairs of the Heart
That is, a la dog!
This is Hazel. She is one of three dogs that ‘belong’ to Pharaoh.
Last Tuesday, we took Pharaoh and his mini-pack of 3 dogs out for our usual afternoon walk at the very end of Granite Dells Rd, out where the forest road ends and soon becomes the relative wilderness of the Tonto National Forest.
However, on this occasion Hazel decided to leave us and link up with a stranger who was hiking the forest. That was the last we saw of Hazel for many hours. Miracle of miracles, the stranger, Joanie, was a dog-lover so when Hazel had followed Joanie and her dog all the way to Joanie’s car, the next stop for her, Hazel that is, was our local Payson Humane Center. Hazel’s tag very quickly linked her to Jean (a great reminder of the importance of tagging your dogs!) who is well-known as a volunteer assistant at the Humane Society Thrift store and the scare was over.
But during the hours of tramping those miles along challenging forest tracks, calling out Hazel’s name, both Jeannie and I had plenty of time to hurt. Here’s a small insight, that millions of pet owners will resonate with, that demonstrates the way that dogs offer us so much love which, in turn, opens our human hearts to the purity of unconditional love. (And I know it’s not just dogs but many animals in our lives that offer us such love!)
Pharaoh and his ‘team’ sleep in our bedroom. During the Winter months Hazel will often lay stretched out on the bed-cover alongside the back of my legs. If I need a trip to the bathroom during the night, not unknown at my age, I can almost guarantee that Hazel will shift her cuddly body up to the warm sheets just below my pillow.
Thus it was this last Tuesday morning when I returned from my bathroom run about 3am; Hazel asleep with her head on my pillow! I didn’t have the heart to push her off the bed, so just slipped in beside her and moments later back asleep, my head nestled against Hazel’s warm head. Sleeping so close to a dog is more than just nice, it seems to stir very ancient memories deep in the subconscious, perhaps back all those thousands of years to when domesticated dogs were an integral part of early man’s security.
So you can imagine the anguish that, in our own separate minds, Jeannie and I were experiencing. I just couldn’t go to the place where never again would I feel the warmth of Hazel’s body against mine. Jean was desperately hoping this wasn’t a tragic repeat of losing Poppy. Thus when I went round to the Humane Center just as they were closing up and Hazel came out to me, I dissolved in sobs of relief.
That’s the heart-felt closeness of dogs and humans.
ooOOoo
All of you, including your loving animals, have a wonderful weekend.
Learning from Dogs 
Our dogs want to sleep in the bed, but the cats won’t let them 🙂
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That’s lovely! I can’t imagine how it would play out if our cats had access to our bedroom! Do have a great weekend, John.
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You too, Paul
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Touching story, and of course one I can relate to. We also have our dogs chipped, because they’re a bit feral off the lead and have been known to lose their tags – sometimes their collars! – in cruising the underbrush before circling back around to find us, again and again. I do miss having our dogs inside, but in Hawaii, we have too many critters that live in dog fur, and we don’t want to poison the dogs just to have them close to us at night. They are fine, have their comfy beds laid on the lanai every evening and collected and stowed in the morning. During the day they have their shade/dirt beds out in my gardens(!) Which is fine – they don’t do regular damage to them, in any case. Aloha, Paul!
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Sounds like a fabulous life for them all. Best wishes to you all!
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I was reliving that moment of anguish with you both .. I remember when a young kitten of ours went missing for 3 days, we knocked on peoples doors and asked them to look in sheds etc.. our children were so worried too. He came home very poorly as I rushed him to the vets, his fur coated in what appeared White spirit. He had to spend a week in the vets, And thus began his long affair with being treated as it had affected his kindneys.
Sending Love to you both
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Ouch! Did you ever find out what happened to the kitten?
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Yes after 3 days Paul it returned, and Like I said it needed urgent treatment.. The Vets confirmed it was some sort of paint stripper, so we can only assume it was caught in some ones shed or garage. And either tipped or fell into something. Cats absorb into their blood streams quickly through their skins. And our Kitten was very lucky not to die.. The fast action of the vets is what saved him but he was on treatments and tablets for the rest of his life, as it caused skin and kidney problems. He was our youngest to pass at 4 yrs.
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Sue, you have just prompted me to check that my cans of paint, and paint stripper, etc., are safely out of reach from the dogs in the garage. The garage doors are frequently left open when the dogs are outside.
Anyway, you good people did so much for that cat. Best wishes.
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Yes glad it prompted a check Paul.. Yes we did our best for him, and I had a wonderful Vet! 🙂 Who worked miracles 🙂
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🙂
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