Home for the holidays

Cat, in the San Francisco Bay Area, with her little cousins

This is the first Thanksgiving that I have spent with my family in years.

For the past five years, I have been away, working as a reporter. Even when I was working in Fresno and it was within driving distance from home, I was rarely allowed to take holidays off.

There were just too many soup kitchens and homeless shelters, too many family feuds and fatal shootings to cover. And as I reported other peoples' lives, I was essentially missing out on my own. I missed all those holiday dinners and picture-perfect moments gathered around the Christmas tree or watching the countdown, laughing, loving, living.

That's why this year Thanksgiving means so much more to me. I finally understand what it's all about. Yes, I have a lot for which to be grateful.


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A Cat and her dog

While surfing the Internet, I came across this article, "5 Ways Pets Improve Your Health." It reminded me of when I adopted my daschund-terrier mix, Roxy Nova, from the Central California SPCA. She's changed my life for the better, though I didn't know it at the time.

Roxy had an abandonment complex, submissive urination issues, flaky, dry skin; in short, she was a hot mess. Ha. We seemed a perfect fit. After all, what's that saying? Birds of a feather? (Note: Thankfully, my bladder is a little more behaved than Roxy's.)

I had her for two days before I decided I couldn't take on such a huge responsibility. That, and I broke out in shingles from all the stress. I had to take her back. She needed a chance to have a better home. This was best for the both of us, I tried to convince myself.

And she knew!

Roxy knew I was breaking up with her. She had this sad, pathetic look that whole day. She refused to make eye contact with me on the ride back to the pound. She whimpered when I handed her over to the nice lady behind the counter and yelped as they took her behind those closed doors, back to the kennel.

That terrible experience stuck with me for a couple days. In the end, I couldn't take the mounting guilt; I reclaimed my pup. We slowly began to rebuild our relationship.

That was nearly three years ago. We've been a team ever since.

Today, Roxy is excited when I walk through our front door. She follows me around the house. She's overcoming her anxiety issues. I've re-earned her trust.

And you know what? I feel pretty darn happy because of it. Healthy too. Shingles be damned.



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