The Unconditional Love & Comfort of Pets - Page 2
© Cynthia Webber (Jausten)
Not everyone likes animals or enjoys pets, so this in a very individual choice to make. Some people also live in apartments or places where pets aren't allowed. If a pet is owned before developing fibromyalgia, the pet may be older and require more health care, which can become expensive. A new frisky cat or puppy can be very tiring, and knowing what our limitations are before obtaining one is a major decision. Pets involve a great deal of responsibility, extra work and money for their care. Before deciding to take on this extra responsibility, we must realize that a pet is not disposable, and they depend upon us to care for them.
They will return that care with their unconditional love and support of us, but the burden of caring for a pet must be carefully considered before heading out to a local pet store or animal shelter in search of a pet which draws us to it.
Another consideration is the amount of yard space that is available for a dog to roam, plus a fence is very necessary. My younger dog has learned to jump the gate, and she travels across a busy street to visit with my neighbor's dogs. We have had to block the gate so that she can't jump it, and sometimes all she needs is to be taken for a walk in order to get rid of her excess energy.
There are leash by-laws, and being dragged by two large dogs is not healthy for my pain levels. I let them run in an area which doesn't have many people around, but on several occasions I've been verbally attacked by elderly men who are afraid of dogs. Even when I try to explain that I have a health condition which makes it difficult for me to keep both dogs on leashes, they don't listen to me. One such incident happened recently, and the elderly man and his wife were making my dogs bark and bare their teeth because they didn't have the common sense to just stand still. They were afraid, and the anger that poured from this elderly man's mouth was more than I could take. I was out walking for exercise, and I was trying to deal with a heavy depression that was settling over me. This man had me sitting on the ground in tears because of his insensitive words and lack of any ability to hear me. I knew that he and his wife were frightened, but I also knew my dogs. I also had control over them, and my feelings were that if they had wanted to go for a walk, they could have walked in a park or in an area that made them feel safe.
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