If you’ve lived with, gotten to know, or cared for a domestic pet then you know that they are more than just a ball of fur. They are part of the family.
Dog or cat, rabbit or rat, over time their idiosyncrasies and personalities surface, and you begin the process of getting to know each other. If you’re both lucky, an enduring companionship blossoms. For better or worse, you’re stuck with each other. Sometimes it’s a bad day at work, or perhaps a rainy day, but eventually you begin to seek out a snuggle and they do the same, loyally tagging along (and probably hoping a treat will fall magically from your pocket to the floor). It’s astounding the level of company and loyalty a pet offers up on a lonely day, without fail.
And they’re hilarious, too. Some have conversations. Others steal valuable items and hide them. They poop in the middle of the living room if they’re mad and climb under the covers when they’re cold. Whatever the jape or gesture, it’s difficult to stay angry for long. After all, they’re your best friend, too.
My dear friend Naomi had to say goodbye to one such creature recently. Sophia had personality & attitude like I’d never seen. She was fat and happy and irresistibly hilarious when she got her annual summer haircut.
Naomi was with me the night I lost my dog, Daisy, a few years ago but she was unable to travel home from South Korea to say goodbye to Sophia.
So I asked Naomi, “Would it be weird if I visited Sophia and took a few photos even though she’s sick?”
“I’d really like it if you could take some pictures of her,” she said.
