@Jenny
Welcome Jenny, I am sure you will become a great and valued part of the team.......particularly as you are a pet lover!
There is something about a pet that gives us such strength. When we lost our last boy in 2013 I swore I would never get another pet.....it just breaks your heart when they leave you. Just look at Jetti-boy.......
He came back from his walk one afternoon, had a stroke, and that was it, he was gone!
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Nine months later this little Aussie Shepherd (BettyJoy) showed up on my phone and we were hooked all over again....
All dogs show emotion by growling or wagging their tail but 'Betts' takes it to the next level! She shows really emotion!
Most often she will come with us when we go somewhere...even when it is interstate. But sometimes we go where a dog is not permitted. She will see us getting ready to go out and she is up to the car all good to go! I say to her, 'Not tonight Betts' and she will sit there behind the gate and watch us leave.
If we are gone for 1/2 hour or more when we return she is there jumping up at the gate pleased to see us. But, sometimes we get out into the street and Ade will say...'Oh I forgot my glasses, or phone'....or something or other and we will turn around and come back up into the driveway. Betts will still be there at the gate but, her face is all wet, she is crying because she has been left behind. I have mentioned this to the Vet and he says......"Nah, dogs don't cry, she must have slobbered in her drink bowl"....but I swear its true, each time this happens Betts physically cry's. She gets over it quickly, within 5 minutes she accepts that we are gone and that is that, but catch her in that first minute or two, she is shedding tears because she has been left behind!
What is not to love about a pet!
Cheers........Rob