A Fluffy Friend: For The Love of Mutt
Earlier today I was on twitter and saw a post from one of my followers. It seems his cat recently came home with a collar. He soon found out that his fluffy friend had been hanging out with one of his animal loving neighbors. This neighbor had been feeding the cat which explained the sudden weight gain. Reading this tweet made me think about my own childhood pet, Mutt.
A Surprise
Mutt was, unsurprisingly, a mutt. We tried to name him something else. My sister and I had gone to visit our grandparents for a couple of weeks when our mom got the puppy. Our parents decided to let us name him when we came home but they had to call him something. After two weeks of being referred to as “the mutt” he had decided that was his name and refused to answer to anything else. Believe me, I tried. I wanted to name him Fluffy. (Hey, I was only eleven years old and he was in fact quite fluffy!)
No other pet I have had has lived up to the standard set by that dog. He was special. As a puppy, he let me walk around with him sitting on top of my head. Over forty years later my sister still teases me about that. He played football with me. Sort of. When I went outside and called him he would run so fast he would skid right past and have to turn around and come back. Good times!
We’d had Mutt for about a year when my father got transferred and we had to move. Mutt had a whole new neighborhood to explore! He found the house down the street owned by people who bred greyhounds. He found the people across the street whose children left their toys outside on a regular basis. This one was lots of fun for Mutt but not so much fun for my father. He had to go out in our yard once a week with a basket to collect all the stolen toys and return them to the neighbor.
Spreading The Joy
The other thing Mutt found in our new neighborhood was the reason my friend’s tweet made me smile. He found our next door neighbor. I wish I remembered his name because it somehow feels wrong not to. He was an older retired gentleman who lived alone. He enjoyed watching Mutt run through the neighborhood as much as I did. And I think he was a little lonely. He had a deck outside of his back door with a grill and that indoor/outdoor furniture that only actually looks right outdoors and doesn’t get ruined if it gets wet.
One day my mother noticed that Mutt wasn’t eating his Dog Chow. He didn’t appear to be losing any weight but he was skipping enough meals that we began to grow concerned. He turned his little wet nose up at Alpo. And he showed no interest in getting on board the Gravy Train. We were ready to take him to the vet. Then one day we happened to go into the backyard at just the right time. There was Mutt on the deck with our next door neighbor. They each had a plate with a freshly grilled New York Strip. Mutt was eating better than us!
Over the next couple of weeks I noticed that our neighbor sat on the deck with Mutt quite frequently. They didn’t always eat steak. Sometimes he just talked to the dog while rather absentmindedly scratching his head. I also noticed that he seemed livelier and happier during those times. This isn’t surprising. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of times spent hanging out with Mutt. He wasn’t just my pet. He was my friend. And we were his people.
Fluffy Friends Forever
A special bond can exist between an owner and a pet. (Or a neighbor and a pet) It can help us get through the stressful times. It can make an ordinary day more memorable. They depend on us. So if you have a four legged friend that makes your day a little brighter with their unconditional love, give him or her an extra treat today and enjoy the therapeutic effect of your fluffy friend.
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