Pet Power

Tonight I went into the city for the TenX9 storytelling evening. The theme was pets. The stories were wonderful, a reminder of all the joy, comfort, companionship, laughter, and grief pets bring into our lives. Richard O'Leary told of burying his pet chicken Danny in a Kellogg's cornflakes box. He had earlier pointed out how much Danny looked like the chicken on the box. The box was carried on his shoulder to a grave dug by his brothers, with a cross and a religious metal. Of course I can't do justice to O'Leary, with his soft Cork accent and his charm.

One of the stories that will stay with me was from a woman who had mental health issues. She wasn't specific but she described how her mom--NOT a dog person--said she could have a dog if she recovered from one of her hospitalisations. Clearly the young woman's will was not for staying. So they got a dog and the dog saved her from killing herself multiple times. She told of one time when she was alone in Donegal and she planned her death. The dog refused to walk when she took him to the beach and she couldn't go to the place where she planned to kill herself. It was grim but also spoke to the power of the bond between pet and human.

Speaking of ...

My neighbour Marian made this sweater for Paddy to take the cuteness level up a notch or two.

Jan. 16