Naomi Girlfriend: the story before the story

Adopting Naomi Girlfriend (named by my nephews!) is easily one of the best things that has ever happened in my life.  There are times when I get kinda self-conscious about how often I talk about her or how often I want her to join me in whatever I am doing.  As I have been reflecting on why she is such a big deal to me, I feel little embarrassment about her significance to me.

Ever since I was very little, I have passionately loved dogs.  I grew up with them and around them.  The neighbors on the block who had dogs frequently found me in their yards playing with their dogs.  I loved the Benji movies, even though they were an absolute emotional rollercoaster.  I had dog books, dog calendars, dog figurine things (a lot of them, proudly mounted on their own special shelving unit thing), dog posters... my first e-mail address was "drumsndogs" (drums and dogs).  

Our little mutt, Boots, was my companion in the early days.  I'm guessing she tolerated my childish harassment, and then laid with me constantly through my brutal second bout of chickenpox when I was in elementary school.  She died abruptly not long after, and it was my first experience of feeling like someone ripped my heart out of me and crashed it all over the floor.  That may sound dramatic, but my dogs are really that big of a deal to me.  

Soon after Boots was run over, my uncle found a lab-retriever mix in the ditch along a country road.  No one claimed her for weeks, so when he heard about Boots, he made the magic connection. (Some truth stretching may or may not have been necessary to get my parents on board!) Soon we brought home an older puppy that was about 3 times the size that Boots was.  She was awkwardly growing into her disproportionate red body and we named her Mena (Malagasy for "red").  Through my difficult adolescent years filled with family issues, depression, much anger, a lot of loss and grief, confusion, loneliness and shame, Mena gave me a reason to come home when all I wanted to do was run away.

When I was in college and didn't live with a dog for the first time ever, I went home with friends who had dogs, and I took care of any of my friends dogs when they would go out of town.  A little over a year after college, my friend that I was living with decided to get a dog, and made the mistake of bringing me with to the humane society... She walked up to me and as I knelt down to pet her she just rested her head on my shoulder.  I begged him to bring Matty home that day.  

Matty helped me through the darkest years of my life, with an inexplicable ability to know when I needed her at my side.  I could have a panic attack in the basement and she would somehow know and run downstairs, lay beside me and just rest her head on my chest.  When everyone else was at work and I could hardly get out of bed, I was never alone because she was there.  Matty and I have a bond I've never experienced with any other dog. 

Living circumstances have prevented me from having a dog ever since I moved out of the house that Matty is at.  I've always known I wanted to get a dog again soon, and about 2 years ago I couldn't get my mind off it.  It has always been about far more than just having a dog for a pet.  The therapeutic ramifications are incalculable.  So, for a long time I researched, I prayed, I talked to people, I planned, I prayed, I hoped cautiously...

On January 8, 2015,
I brought home Naomi Girlfriend.

And she is one of the best things that has ever come into my life.



More on that to come...