A butterfly kiss
The animals we call “pets” are considered members of my family. Their existence is a bright light in the emotional spaces that define the wide and varied relationships akin to the human experience. In both my childhood and adult life, part of the familial landscape of time has been deeply marked by the lives lived by our pets, upended by their deaths and followed painfully by the aching realization once they are gone how much their positive energy has filled our home and surroundings. Over the years their unique personalities have brought my family immense delight, companionship, comfort, healing, worry and sorrow. My children tell me they have often whispered secrets to them, finding solace in the comforting warmth of these mostly silent Beings whose quiet collusion is interpreted as that of an avid listener.
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Our family has anthropomorphized their lives, creating stories of their nightly wanderings, their disappearances and returns, their quirks, their actions and interactions with each other and with other animals they have encountered. Their individual histories invariably become deeply embedded in a shared family experience that regal in the detailed accounts of each of these pet’s unique personalities and behaviours which eventually become part of our family folklore.
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The presence of our pets has always been a gift to our household. They push us out of the walled spaces of our human world and back into nature. For our family, the “dog walk” is a routine departure from a possible sedentary existence. The ever-curious horses will come over and visit, sniffing, nudging or the mischievous ones will steal a hat and toss it, or chase one of the dogs. The natural playfulness of our pets is infectious, further impacting our interactions with them and strengthening our bonds. Despite the occasional chewed shoe, a late night meet-up with a skunk, the devouring of an entire dinner prepared for a birthday party, or accidents in the early days of house training, it is with gratitude that all these wonderful creatures have entered our lives and become part of our family sphere.
Images to follow...