They told me his name was Ozzie and he was about two years old. He had been left behind by the previous tenant. They had tried their best to care for him but felt the environment for Ozzie was not very comfortable. Over time they had become attached but really wanted to see him go to a good home.
This was the last thing I wanted as I was not ready to care for a pet. To appease the boys I went into the room where they kept him. Calling for him I didn’t get any type of response. So, I started to talk to him and asked, “Ozzie, do you want to come home with me?” Out from under the bed came this beautiful black dog with the biggest eyes I had ever seen!
He came right to me and barked. I understood that to mean,“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” He had totally won me over and had wrapped his paw around my heart. It was the beginning of a very long partnership! We settled in and I must say to this day when I think back on our time together I am amazed at how much I learned about myself.
Unconditional love was at this top of the list. No matter what kind of mood I was in, Ozzie had a way of being able to read me like a book!
This was something I marveled at.
He had his way of conveying to me that he understood and would offer comfort that would heal my spirits immediately!
If I was sad he would stay next to me and look into my eyes and in a gesture that brings tears to my eyes even today. He would reach out and gently touch my face with his paw. As you can well imagine things would then be okay with the world no matter what it was that was bothering me.
We experienced our first earthquake together. What a memory that was! I grabbed Ozzie and stood inside of the door frame as we were being jostled around, I told him it was Mother Nature hiccupping and as scared as he was he seemed to know I was trying to comfort him.
After the ground stopped shaking I began to put some supplies in a duffel bag to take to my car. Ozzie seemed to watch me and what I was doing. As I was preparing to leave he got in the bag and just barked and barked. I took that to mean“Hey, you are not leaving me behind!”
It’s so very special when you have these moments as it is a sure sign of a very special bond that starts to grow to include body language and when it happens with a dog it is never forgotten.
I always felt that Ozzie had an uncanny ability to know what certain words meant. Mornings I would stir and call out “Breakfast”. Ozzie would leap off the bed and run to the kitchen. I would pretend to go back to sleep. We would play this game about two times when finally for the third time I would say “Breakfast”, Ozzie would start to leap pause and turn to me with a look that said "Oh No!I am wise to that!"
Ozzie was very healthy all his life and not a fussy eater. If there was a type of food that I would serve him that he didn’t like I would ask him to “please eat it and I would not buy it again.” I was very surprised when he would eat it! I would give him a bath which was something he enjoyed.
When Ozzie reached the age of 15 that is seven times a human’s age so he indeed was a senior! He developed a condition known as Citistus. This is fatal for a male dog if not treated as they are not able to urinate. So he would have “attacks” and I would have to rush him to the vet. It went this way for a few months until the vet was able to give me medicine that stopped the problem. I had to be sure he took the medicine and watch him very carefully. At this age the vet said to expect anything and everything but he recovered nicely.
Where we lived Ozzie was the only dog. In fact he was the only pet. So, he became the “mascot” and was popular with all the neighbors. He would visit and keep company with some of the tenants and they were always delighted and would give him treats his favorite being any kind of meat.
About a year after his bout with the citistus Ozzie’s sight and hearing began to go, along with losing control of his bowels. I would have to clean up after him and feed him with an eye dropper. I knew he was going and I wanted him to be in familiar surroundings.
It had been such a long road we had traveled! I felt so honored and privileged to have been chosen to have Ozzie become part of my life.
There is no doubt that I truly feel that we learn some of our life’s lessons from our pets. From Ozzie I learned Patience, Trust and Love. The biggest lesson to me was when things get out of control and you are nearing the end of your rope, help someone who is in worse shape, then you can take your mind off yourself. This was what happened to me when Ozzie was sick. I had many problems at that time, but I focused on caring for Ozzie, and it helped me release a lot of stress and worry when I was not thinking about myself.
I took some vacation time from my job and made Ozzie as comfortable as I could. After all we had been through a lot together and he deserved it.
On February 1, 1991 Ozzie died. He was 16 years old.
I had picked him up and was whispering to him what a brave and wonderful companion he had been, but it was okay if he had to leave me. I promised him I would be okay. With that he weakly barked his goodbye.
I had him cremated and his ashes scattered under a beautiful tree on the Pet Cemetery grounds.
At the time my boss viewed a loss of a pet the same as the loss of a family member and gave me some time off.
My heart was broken in a million pieces. I said I would be okay and I had made a promise so life went on. I still miss Ozzie and it’s been 10 years! He made a lasting impression and impact on my life so deep that it has taken me this long to write about it.
I feel he is always with me, and will always hold a special place in my heart that has had time to heal since his passing.
A few months after Ozzie’s death I had fallen asleep and had a dream about Ozzie barking very loud in my ear. I woke with a start to the smell of smoke. I had left a pan on the stove, and Ozzie woke me up!