Cat person or dog person? I’ve never understood the need to choose. I love both, and luckily neither has ever asked me to pick a team.
Sam, my Devon rex, carried an air of elegance — along with a lot of attitude. In the eight years we’ve had Winston, our Portuguese water dog, I’ve only heard him bark protectively twice. He’s never met a stranger, and he wouldn’t know how to produce a fierce growl to save his life. (If it was my life on the line, I’m convinced he’d find a way to muster up a half-intimidating gutteral sound.)
Each has helped me through tough periods in life. But it’s not just on the bad days when they’ve been there to lick the tears away.
While I’ve been lucky to have people in my life who still light up when we reunite after time spent apart, none can match the pure, uncontainable joy Winston exudes each and every time I return home. It’s in his response to life’s mundane moments — the delight in a squeaky toy, the joy of a car ride, the ritual of a walk — that I’m reminded to savor the small stuff.
Presence, care, and attentiveness can be profoundly restorative. Time spent with people nurtures our emotional well-being. Time spent with animals deepens it in unforeseen ways. Being around animals reminds us of the ways connection heals.
It’s a lesson I’ve seen time and again working alongside the animal rescue community. A service animal can bring stability to a veteran suffering from PTSD. A dog introduced into a prison program can restore trust, even in the wariest of humans.
In schools, therapy dogs are revolutionizing how children navigate emotional challenges. A nervous student reading aloud for the first time is able to find courage beside a wagging companion. A youngster struggling with anger discovers a patient listener who offers presence and acceptance without judgment.
“Who rescued who?” is a question I hear in animal rescue circles again and again. The answer likely lies somewhere in the middle, but what is undeniable, is how we each can benefit from time with them.
From the aloof, moody kitty whose sass prompts a giggle, to the tail-wagging lap buddy whose unconditional and endless dedication provides the love we all seek, time spent with an animal is good for the soul.
So, cliché or not, cat lover or dog enthusiast, may we continue to soak up their unique remedy for loneliness, heartbreak, or just one of those tough days with the understanding that love should be patient, steady, and always ready to greet us — no matter how messy our days or variable our moods.
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