I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic lately.
Thinking about the dogs who have been part of my life and how much they’ve shaped the person I am today.
I can’t imagine who I’d be today without the dogs I’ve been blessed to know.
Life would be much more of a struggle, and I would not be able to do my work very well.
I believe — and I know you’ll agree — that dogs are unlike any other form of existence, and definitely the best gift from the universe.
No other species measures up to them.
Our dogs walk with us through different chapters of our lives… often teaching us more than we realize in the moment.
When I think back, Skai came into my life at a very specific time.
It was after a painful breakup. I wasn’t feeling great emotionally, and decided to adopt a dog.
I had originally chosen a different puppy named Peggy — Skai’s sister. I’d visited her several times, and it felt like a connection was there.
But about a week before I was supposed to bring her home, something strange happened.
Peggy started running away from me! I tried not to take it personally, but I can’t say I wasn’t sad about it. I was so ready to bring her home.
The puppies’ human mom then pointed to another puppy — Skai — and warned me that he was food-aggressive and not the right dog to take.
But the moment she said that, something magical happened. Skai dropped his bone and ran straight to me.
And in that instant, everything changed. I became best friends with Peggy’s new parents, and the dogs have spent happy 16 years living the best lives and spending a lot of time together.
Looking back now, I don’t see Peggy running away from me as rejection.
She just had a plan.
I see it as a life-transforming event — or God, fate, the universe, whatever you want to call it — guiding Skai and me together.
I’m so glad I didn’t listen to: “He is food aggressive, don’t take that one.”
Because Skai became such a great dog, guide and teacher.
He was a steady, stabilizing presence at a time of deep transition in my life.
The time of transition that eventually led to new friendships, a better relationship and even greater passion and love for my work.
Over the years, I’ve come to believe that our dogs aren’t just randomly placed in our lives.
I believe they come to us with purpose at the exact moment we need them… carrying lessons we’re meant to learn.
Because when I look at the dogs that have been in my life, I can see that
each one of them brought something different.
Skai was serious and a real working dog. He was very attached but not so cuddly. His job was to “oversee” the chaos at the clinic and keep me on track.
Pax, on the other hand, is completely different.
He’s much less serious, lighter and goofier. More like a never-grown-up kid who wants independence, yet panics when he loses sight of me. He also tries to rescue me when I go swimming. I wonder if my crawl stroke looks like drowning.
And yet, some of the most important medical insights I’ve gained over the years — like my support for hormone-sparing sterilization and hormone replacement therapy — have come through thanks to Pax.
I love both Skai and Pax equally. And I’m grateful that they’ve each been able to teach me different lessons in their own way.
I’ve uploaded some old “home movies” of Skai and me playing and going on adventures — including an unforgettable trip to Paris!
