It’s said that people look like their dogs. I’ve discovered that my Cocker Spaniel and I act like each other.
I’ve written about Joey a couple of times over the past few years. For example, there was a post about the adventure of taking him for a walk using my scooter. Joey is my pal, my companion, and my stress reliever. The other night, lying in bed, I was thinking about how much we have in common.
We’re both old, and we share August birthdays. Joey will be 14 soon (84 in people years), while I’ll be 72.
We both love to eat, but we’re picky about the menu. Ice cream is our favorite.
We both love napping.
Joey has a leash, and some think that I should have one, but our barks are worse than our bites.
As he’s gotten older, Joey has been having a hard time jumping up onto the bed. I’ve been having a hard time getting out of it.
We both have a bunch of medications. I take about half a dozen different meds for my MS. Joey takes about the same for his heart and skin problems. Joey’s medications include a diuretic, and that gives us something else in common:
My Cocker Spaniel and I both pee a lot!
Some people with MS have a service dog trained to handle tasks such as opening and closing doors, getting the phone, pulling off clothes, pressing buttons and calling for help. Joey is not a service dog because he doesn’t have specialized training. But he does qualify as an assistance dog because of the stress relief that he provides. It really doesn’t matter to me what training he’s had or what title he carries — he carries me every day. I like to think that I carry him a little, too.
Fellow MS News Today columnist Jennifer Powell feels the same way about her golden retriever, Abby. “My most treasured moments are spent lying on the lawn with Abby, her paw resting on my hand, the late afternoon sun flickering on her golden fur,” Powell writes. “I lie back and let my mind soften; my worries seemingly vanish, and for that moment in time, I am calm. … She embodies joy and happiness and one cannot help but feel the same when around her.”
That’s what dogs are all about. Sometimes cats, too, but that’s a story for another day.
(A version of this post first appeared as my column on the MS News Today website.
