I absolutely love it......waking up next to someone that I know truly loves me and will always be there under every circumstance to show me the love and support that I need. Now, let me be clear.....my mother is in a class of her own; she love me and supports me on levels that define parenting at it's very best. But, this lady that I am talking about is also a great comfort to me and has seen what some of the closest people to me have not.
Cleo.....my adorably cute, 6 year old (July 2010), Labrador Retriever mix, defines "Man's Best Friend"......or, in my case, "Homo's Best Homegurl".
Cleo, named such because my ex refused to let me name her Fantasia after my favorite American Idol winner, whatever! We agreed on Cleo because she was born at the end of July and I thought she was a Cancer and he said she was a Leo....you get it, right?
Anyway, from the moment I laid eyes on her I knew she and I would be besties forever. On the day that we met Cleo, we were supposed to go to Bellevue to get a new dog. We had seen this really cute 2 year old and had planned on visiting him. Well, we took the wrong exit and ended up heading south on I-405 instead of north. My ex, ever the diplomat, suggested that we just go to the Kent Animal Shelter and double back and go up to Bellevue. Little did either of us know, our world was about to become enhanced, fully.
We go inside the Kent Shelter and it was pretty packed. We requested to go take a look at the dogs they had and they motioned for us to head on back. In the very first kennel there was a new litter of puppies just clamoring for attention and they were all SO CUTE!! I put my fingers through the gate, which you should never do because you may get bitten or something, but I was not the least bit afraid of those vicious 5 week old puppies. This particular puppy, with her neon orange collar, walked up to gate and started to lick my fingers and whimper. She looked up at and.......well, miss thing had me at "HERRROWW" (that's "hello" for those that don't speak puppy).
That was the beginning of a love and friendship that I could tell was going to be everlasting. However, I had no idea how that little puppy would grow up to be such an important part of my life. She has seen me at my happiest and my saddest. She has been steadfast in her affection for me and remains my girl.....remember the song by Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans....."Count On Me"? That is our theme song.
I wake up everyday to her laying right beside me or she is licking me in my face to speed up the waking up process because she is ready to get her eat on.....For Real.
However, what I have discovered recently is that Cleo is very much in tune with my mood and how I am feeling and in times that I am having a hard day, she will lay on my pillow.....her nose to my nose.....no licking....just her letting me know that she knows I am not feeling it today and that I can take my time. She will lay her head on my chest or back or leg to let me know that she is still there and she gets it. She will help me out of bed and then take ME for a walk.....because she knows that I don't have the energy to walk her.
On the other side.....when life is good, she and I are up at 6:00am and ready for the day. She is running in circles and jumping all over me because she and I are ready to take on whatever the day will bring. She is one of the most expressive dogs I have every seen......she smiles, she really does.
Never a mean word or a judgment or a complaint or a nag.....just love in the way she communicates with me. When I look into her big brown eyes and she cocks her head to the side as if to say "what chu lookin at?" I see nothing but love. A love that is everlasting.....yep, Cleo is my best friend and I love you, girl......For Real!!
No comments:
Post a Comment