by: Patricia Kent-Friedman
As we age, we reflect on old loves, losses we have
endured through time, and memories that stay burned
in our brains, ours to keep forever. As a mother, the
most painful thing can often be watching your child
suffer and wishing you could absorb it and take it away.
This time, I am at a loss.
Dottie came to us in 2013, a beautiful English
bulldog with a dot in the middle of her head, chosen
with thought. She was a handful as a puppy, named
after my children's grandmothers, both named Dottie,
who passed away too soon. The year she arrived, I was
healing from a very intense myriad of health issues,
just before what was to be the biggest fight of my life in
2014.
Dottie was a rascal, but she nestled nicely with
Zoey, our aging miniature pinscher. My daughter
was preparing for college and suffering the effects
of career-ending injuries from years as a very
accomplished gymnast and dancer. As I fought for my
life, even in the midst of all hope failing, my daughter
prepared and left for college, while my sister cared for
my family as I fought to come back.
Dottie became my rock. Through time, I was back
up and running, with this dog by my feet as I sat frozen
in a body that was not working. She became my reason
to walk again, to eat again, to live again.
A Love Story Between a Girl & a Bulldog
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