Tonymccall's Blog

Praise the Lord from The Retired Old Guy!

As you get along in life so many things change, but of course some things never change. The love of your children never changes nor does the love for your spouse. I guess that has changed since it gets better and stronger with the passing years. Yet many things will and do change. The everyday sounds of a bustling, active, lively and sometimes annoying family will come to a halt. Oh, there will still be times of rambunctious activities like Christmas or Thanksgiving, but the everyday experiences of life with children does go away for the most part. I can tell you it’s a mixed bag since I know today I couldn’t keep pace with the family that I miss, but often wish I could still hear the sounds of their laughter and getting ready for the day ahead. You’ll never be able to replace that experience but maybe you redirect it to something else. That brings me to my JoJo!

JoJo is my ever-faithful fur baby. He’s been a joy to me and my wife ever since we first laid eyes on him. He was just a few weeks old and so white and fluffy. He looked a lot like a little snowball with a little tongue that was so eager to greet you and get to know you. It was, for me at least, love at first lick. We took him home and gave him a name and he became a part of our family. We bought him toys, beds, and any number of things that we felt he would need and he bounced around us and loved us as only he could. He became a new kind of joy in our lives. We were a new kind of family. Yet even these things change after a few years.

My wife’s sister came into the possession of a little rescue dog. Shortly after he came into her life she was diagnosed with lung cancer which pretty quickly took her from us. She asked us if we would take care of Buzz, which we agreed to do and now we are four. Poor Buzz must have been somewhat mistreated somewhere in his short life and my sister-in-law hadn’t had him long enough to really get him to become accepting of the human race, so the battle began. Buzz was shy and not very trusting at all, but you could tell from the start that he longed for human companionship in his life. He wanted to like you and be liked, but he just wasn’t sure. Plus, JoJo wasn’t very sure what this other creature was doing in his home. He was taking time away from his cuddles and attention. There was going to be a time of getting used to each other, for sure.

The time has passed now to more than a year since Buzz has come into the family and there are still times of wariness between the two, but there are times of acceptance also. Buzz seems to understand that JoJo was here first and is the alpha dog and JoJo, at least sometimes, understands that Buzz is here to stay, so they coexist. JoJo is still the loving lap dog he’s always been and Buzz will come to rub his head on your hand or you neck wanting that loving pat or return rub from us. They are happy and we are family.

Don’t get me wrong, they don’t supply the noise or activity that was with us as our children were growing up, but they do impart a sense of family, fulfilling a place in our day that is joyful and even needed. They make us be responsible for them and give us a new kind of purpose in life different than children, but better than being alone. They’re my fur babies and I’m glad they’re around.