The Healing Love of a Pet
- Jayne Balke
- Jul 29, 2016
- 2 min read
Last night I dreamt of my little budgie Goldie. It was a peculiar dream - I had 3 'versions' of Goldie I was playing with: one when we first got her, one at her prime and one at the end stages of her life. I was intent on perching the 3 of them on my shoulders and head so they could nibble my hair (something she always loved to do) and I had to continuously rescue the oldest Goldie from falling. My mum was in the garden taking photos, and I asked her to photograph me with our 3 budgies. She willingly obliged, and for the rest of the dream I was posing the Goldie's for photos.
Somehow, I knew they wouldn't be with us much longer, so I wanted to preserve their memory as best I could.
You know, Golide died over 2 years ago, but occasionally it stings as if she left us only yesterday. In the latter years of her life, her wings and feet stopped working properly so she spent most of her time in a sweet wooden box mum found for her. At the time, I was battling a severe case of depression and would wake during the night in a panic. When that happened, I would go to her box and talk to her and give her neck rubs. The action would calm me and I'd be able to sleep afterwards.
It's strange how a tiny creature can heal your soul so expertly by simply existing in your world.
We haven't owned a pet since then. Our family moved house and mum and dad didn't want to deal with the mess. I understand and respect their reasoning, but lord, how I wish we had another animal to keep me company.
I think some folks underestimate the value of a pet and the unconditional love that accompanies it. True, a fish probably only cares if you feed it, but the owner feels affection towards it, even if the fish doesn't. I know that by growing up with mice and guinea pigs and budgies, they taught me more about myself than I thought possible. I think I valued their company more so in my 20's than I did when I was 12. I'm hoping that I can fill that void sometime in the near future with a pet of my own (perhaps a puppy this time!).
There's more I want to say on the topic, but not today. Today, I only want to say I miss my Goldie. We'll see each other again little one, although some days I wish it was sooner rather than later.
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