As many of you know I lost my fur baby in March. My dog Crash had been the center of my world for over 13 years. We could communicate without even saying a word or a woof. The pain was so deep and raw that I thought I might never recover. Coming home to a quiet house was unbearable. I missed his energy.
Many of my friends, family, and readers were very supportive, leaving me little comments of love and support. Quite a few of you encouraged getting another dog, but I couldn’t even go there. The guilt that I would feel like I was trying to replace him would be enormous.
In my practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I highly recommend Parkies have something that relies on them. This will help you step out of your box. You know, the box which some Parkies get into, where they can only think about themselves because the burden of Parkinson’s on a daily basis can be overwhelming. Some of us will get so focused on ourselves that we need something to take care of like… a pet.
Something that becomes your “why”. Why did you get up this morning? Why do you push through the challenges of Parkinson’s? A pet can do this for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re having the blahs, you have something relying on you that needs to be cared for. Having Crash for me was the reason I got up and walked every day, even if I was not feeling my best. He kept me going when times got difficult because, in the end, he needed me as much as I needed him.
As for you reading this, do you have a why? You have so many options, it could be a dog, cat, guinea pig, goldfish, or even one of those goats that faint when they get startled. Hell, it could be a houseplant. You just need to find your why.
I am excited to tell you that I rescued a dog from a shelter. Her name is Penny, inspired by one of my favorite Beatles songs “Penny Lane” and we even have the same hair color. We’ve been getting to know each other for the last few weeks and it didn’t come without some challenges. For the first time, I took her to the dog park to play with the other neighborhood dogs.
It was a bright spring morning in California. I had just walked Penny to the gate of the park and took off her leash. I open and watch her dash over to a group of dogs who were properly sniffing each other’s butts. Which has me wondering if dogs are supposed to have like 100,000 more acute sense of smell than humans do, why do they have to get like a centimeter away from another dog’s butthole? Science… I digress.
Penny stops near a chocolate lab, takes one sniff, and then just keeps running. She makes it to the furthest spot away from me at the 5-foot fence and somehow morphs into an octopus and elongates her torso, lengthens her rib cage and twists right through the bars of the fence, and just bolts up the hill. I am thinking how in the hell did this little butter ball manage that?!
Now, I have included pictures of this hill at the scene of the escape at the dog park so you can see what I was facing. There was nothing I could do. Even if I could have magically grown the strength, balance, agility, and skill to hop the fence, my Parkinson’s still would have prevented to from navigating that hill to chase my on-the-run pup. I felt helpless. I yelled her name, but that was a dumb move seeing as she had just been adopted and didn’t know her name. I took one last look at my shelter dog off in the distance and I thought, “Well that sucks. Guess it was fun while it lasted.” On the first day at the park, my dog literally saw an opening and decided to take her chances with the coyotes than spend another day with me.
All my screaming got the attention of my friend who got over the gate and started running up the hill to get my feral dog. In the end, we found Penny and everything was fine, but my Parkinson’s sure made me feel vulnerable.
Well now we are understanding each other more and she has become my emotional support dog. She comes with me to the office every day and helps my patients with depression or anxiety. It just reminds me how truly special animals are… we are blessed to have them in our lives.
PENNY IS BEAUTIFUL !!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!
Thank you, Lola! I am happy that we found each other!
Ally, I am so glad you are sharing your life with another special dog. It just plain makes me feel good. I love Penny’s coy little look which says, “I have arrived where I am supposed to be, in the arms of the person who loves me above all others”. Interesting question about butt sniffing. For years I thought it was farsighted dogs trying to determine where another dog was from, e.g. I have noticed that most dogs are from Ohio after noting the big “O” under their tail. I have since researched the question and determined the impetus for dog butt sniffing is much more refined: with a sense of smell at least 10,000x stronger than humans, dogs remember scents and can readily determine “Have we met before?” Also, I determined dogs can readily arrive at gender, reproductive status, diet, general health and temperament from a good long sniff. Also, good on ya for sharing Penny as a Support Dog. You are always so caring and altruistic. We are all lucky to have you in our journey.
Hi Wayne,
Yes, Penny has made it… she’s living the good life. It started by getting rescued from a Tijuana Mexico backyard breeder and then being sent to a shelter in Orange County, California where we crossed paths. We are the perfect pair.
Great post. We are indeed blessed to have them in our lives. We have 3 whys (2 rescue dogs and a rescue cat, although he doesn’t believe he is a rescue 😀 ).
Allow your dog to take you for a walk everyday. It’s good for the body and good for the soul.” – Eckhart Tolle
Enjoy Penny.
Hi Loubie,
I love the quote! Thank you for sharing!
I am so happy for you, Allison! I wrote to you when Crash died and cried with you remembering when my Lily died.
I get my DBS surgery on Tuesday, June 14th. I had to wait until my surgery was done. I live by myself. I am 70.
I can’t hardly wait to become a mama again.
Penny is adorable and Crash is thrilled you are giving another sweet puppy a home.
Take care,
Hello Gina,
So excited for you getting DBS done! Penny and I are sending you positive thoughts. Good luck and keep us posted!
What a beautiful post. I am so glad that you have found your Penny Lane. I have my Billie beagle and two remarkable kitties. The more “why’s” I have, the more stable I am. Gardening is helping me and getting rid of invasive plants. Billie is helping to get rid of invasive ticks:)
Thank you so much.
Hi Gail, thanks for sharing your whys!
I always wanted to have a dog!!!
Did not have the opportunity.
Renting a dog is very good idea!
please no name on the post comment
Hello,
Renting is the best, then at the end of the day, you just hand it back.
I’m thrilled for you!! I agree completely agree about having a ‘why’. I have two puppies who get me up every morning and who get me out of the house every day. It would be so easy to stay inside. Getting outside and getting sunshine makes such a huge difference for my health and for my mood. Sherlock and Molly are my ‘why’. I’m so happy that you found Penny!!
Hi Meg,
I’m so happy to hear you have Sherlock and Molly to get you out of the house. It’s a different energy just getting outside.
Penny is so cute. I’m really happy for you.
Thank you, Katie!
Perky – Glad you found Penny and hope she learns not to jump fences when she goes to the dog park! I lost my dog a few years ago and haven’t found another yet but plan to in the future for all the reasons you cite for adopting Penny.
Hi John,
The right dog will come into your life, you just have to remain open to the potential!
hi Perky – you are ‘spot on’
tog
Ahhhh, I get it! “spot-on”
I would love to adopt another lttle dog as i miss my Rookie, was Cookie when we resqued him from second chance. He was two years old Bichone. Hepassed at 16 1/2, almost two years ago. I miss him everyday. He was my best friend as I dont leave the house except for DR. appointments. I have lost my voice and my eye with PD. I just turned 80 in March and my husband say’s ww are to old to train another fur baby. I am so lonely now and every time I see a little white fluffy dog I miss him more. Thank you for your post’s It always makes me smile. Sorry for the missed keys, I am still learning, Margie
Hi Margie,
I can only imagine how difficult not being able to get another dog would be. They bring so much happiness into a sometimes dark world. Maybe you have a friend who has a dog that they can lend you for an afternoon or something.
Alison, I’m SO glad you found another doggie love. P.S. I love the bangs!
Susan,
So nice to hear from you! The bangs are fun, but require a little maintenance!
I have always had dogs in my home my whole life until my black lab, Keira, had to be put to sleep a little over the age of 13. She’d had a MAST cell tumor removed from her hip a couple of years earlier, but now she was so gray in the muzzle and though she still played and leaped of off boulder sized rocks into the water for her floatie toy, I knew I shouldn’t put her through another surgery when the vet was all but certain it had spread. I didn’t get another one because I knew that in a lot less time than any dog should live I would be retired and living i a city apartment where it was almost assured that I wouldn’t be allowed to have a pet.
But up until then, I’d always grieved for a few months and then gone looking for the next one. And I never thought of it as ‘replacing’ the last dog, but rather honoring how great a dog s/he was by wanting to get another one.
I’m really glad your friend and whomever were able to retrieve Penny and that she is settling in! I hope she comes to mean as much to you as your Crash did!
Norma,
I love the way you say I’m honoring Crash by getting another day! That’s perfect! I kind of believe that Crash sent Penny to me because I’ve always wanted to have a therapy dog to come to my office. Thanks for sharing your story about Keira, she sounds like she was a blessing!
Allison, not sure if I knew you had lost Crash. So sorry. I know how much he meant to you. Glad to hear that you’ve found a new companion in Penny. Best of luck in your new relationship.
Hi Jerry,
Yeah, losing Crash was rough. I loved how Sharon would ask about Crash just because she knew how important he was to me. Hope you’re doing well!
Congratulations 🍾🎉! Dogs are amazing and my dog Molly is one of my “whys”.
Happy
For your new addition.
Oh and I’m an MFT too and my pooch is also in training to be a therapy dog.
Hello Alisa! Love to hear that you’re an MFT and Molly is training to be included in your sessions! Wishing you all the best!
OMG Penny the escape artist and now Penny the therapy dog that her brother Crashie sent to you ❤️🙏🏻🌈🐕
Hello Connie,
I totally believe that Crash sent Penny to me… miss that little old man!
What a scary moment for you and much thanks to your heroic friend. She sounds like a wonderful puppy, companion and loving puppy. Congrats on your new cutie pie 🥰 🐶
Aunt LaLa,
Yes, it was a helpless moment as you can imagine! Hope your cutie pie Chester is doing well with his training.
We started using a gentle leader collar and the difference is miraculous. He is learning every day and at just under 8 months and 76 pounds he is a BIG boy 🐶
Yes the gentle collar was great with crash too! But he wasn’t nearly as big as Chester!
Penny looks like a real sweet heart! Lots of love and schoochies (sic). Kisses from our girls, JJ and Mariah. Be well and thanks for your blog post.
Jaye and Boker,
She is a sweetheart! Thanks for the love from JJ and Mariah!
I have 3 Poms and 1 Havanese. If not for them I’d never get out of bed
Susie,
I bet your fur babies are adorable! Give them some kisses for me!
Allison, she is so cute! Our first dog was a pound dog named Penny. That was many years ago. She was smart, and also like to squeeze through fences. My last dog, Lucy died 4 years ago and we still have not replaced her. We are still talking about getting another dog for the reasons you talk about. Dogs are so comforting and they do give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning,, no matter how you feel.
Sharon,
I vote for a dog! I don’t have to tell you how much they can improve your quality of life!
Heartwarming post. Thank you.
Hello Royall,
Thank you for reading my blog!