Pure Joy: The Dogs We Love by Steel Danielle

Author:Steel, Danielle [Steel, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography, Adult, Humour
ISBN: 9780345543769
Amazon: B00CNQ7B9M
Goodreads: 18867941
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 2013-10-29T07:00:00+00:00

Maxx’s Nancy: keeping busy in the office

Cassio Alves

SIX

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

More than once I have done something that no sane person should ever try to do: give someone I love a dog. It is an incredibly brave, and usually foolhardy, thing to do. And I have no idea why, but it has turned out well every time. It’s a very gutsy thing to do. One thing you should try to be sure of is that the recipient really wants a dog! (The antique dealer who sent me Greta had no idea if I wanted one, but that turned out happily too.)

When my kids were little, I gave them their dogs as gifts and surprised them. They had been asking for a dog for a while, and the gift was always met with squeals of delight. My oldest daughter picked her dog, and I surprised her with her second one, which was never really an exciting dog, so I guess that wasn’t a resounding success. Maxx’s first Boston bull, Annabelle, was a surprise, which gave him endless joy for fourteen years. All three of Vanessa’s Yorkies were surprises, and all three were major hits. Victoria picked out both of her Chihuahuas, and Sam her miniature dachshund, and all were beloved dogs, and Victoria’s Chihuahua Tallulah still is.

But the really courageous and insane act has been giving dogs to friends, and each was a special case. The difficult thing with giving a dog to a friend is that sometimes people say they want something they really don’t. Or they think they do, but the reality is a lot different than the wish. A dog, and particularly a puppy, is a lot of work and can turn your life upside down. Suddenly you have to rush home from work to walk it, or hire a dog walker, which is expensive. You can’t leave for a weekend at the drop of a hat without figuring out what to do with the dog. And you can spend a lot of time walking, training, and cleaning up after it. They’re not just cute, they’re a lot of work. The reality may be more than a friend wants to cope with. But fools rush in where angels fear to tread, and I’ve cast my lot with the fools in the dog department, although I’ve gotten lucky with the end result. And I didn’t actually “rush” into it, in most cases. I thought about it for a while and tried to be sure they really meant it when they said they wanted a dog.

A close friend of mine had a terrible bout of cancer and really went through the agonies of the damned, with fantastic results. She bravely faced the most aggressive treatments, and what was thought to be incurable cancer was cured in less than a year. It was truly a miracle, and I gave her a “miracle party” to celebrate her victory. For years she had said that she wanted a boxer, and with my heart in my throat, I decided to take her at her word.

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