I also know that some of us in the Pet
Lover’s Fraternity may go a little overboard in the way we treat these furry
creatures. And this is especially evident for people who are not pet people.
They think we’re really weird and cannot imagine why we even put up with our
animals in our home, let alone grieve for them when they're gone.
I get this perspective.
And in that spirit, Dionne and I had a conversation
with a friend recently that reminded me of the “non-pet perspective.”
For many years we’ve had a local
landscaper take care of our small lawn. His name is Rudy, and he does a great
job. He’s a solid, quiet man, a very hard worker. He is originally from Germany
and has a strong Churman egzent.
We don’t have many conversations with
Rudy, so until recently I wouldn’t have been able to say whether he had a sense
of humor or not.
Dionne was sharing with Rudy how we had
had to put our golden retriever to sleep, and Rudy commiserated,
having had a dog that had cancer not too long ago.
We explained that treating Jethro’s
illness could have run many thousands of dollars, and in the end we just didn’t
have the money.
“Yah, you cen shpendt a lot of money,”
Rudy reflected... “I hed a client who hed a cet, you know,” he said. “Itd’z
name vas Fluffy. Zuh lady hed to giff it dialyziz. Zen soorgery. Four sousand dollars on dis kitty…”
Dionne
and I nodded, knowingly. “Vell, the day vhen she got Fluffy beck from the vet,
Fluffy got out of zuh yard, you know. Und she got hit by a car.”
Dionne and I didn’t see that coming. “Oh,
how terrible,” we started to say. Rudy continued. “I guess zuh Lord hed a
different plen for Fluffy.” I started to giggle, and then Dionne, and then Rudy.
Lighten up, people.
