This is one of those great stories I received in an e-mail.  I really enjoyed it and so I thought I would share it with you.  Enjoy…

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You’ll like it even if you don’t and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named ‘Lucky.’ Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit, they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease ….in fact , she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her …what would happen to Lucky? Although the
three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary’s dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, was whining and was miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It’s been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and
stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember…. live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget…. the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

It is not my intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyright and if I have inadvertently done so, please contact me and I will remove this post.  Also, the dog pictured above is not the dog "Lucky" mentioned in the story.  I thought this little dog dressed as "Captain Jack" would be a good mascot for "Lucky" since pirates love to collect treasure!

My neighbor Donna has an adorable Shih Tzu named CoCo. She is one of the most lovable little dogs I’ve ever seen. She has taken a special liking to me and when I go to my neighbor’s house, CoCo greets me at the door with immense enthusiasm. In other words, she goes completely berserk.

According to Donna, the dog likes most everyone but she loves me. I seem to have a strange effect on her. When I go there, CoCo follows me from room to room until I give her some attention. Sometimes I pretend to ignore her just to see what she’ll do.

She usually starts patiently by sitting at my feet. Then, she progresses to standing on her back legs and begins "pawing" my leg with her front paws. When that doesn’t work she starts jumping as if to say, "Hey! What’s the matter with you and why aren’t you paying attention to me?" Then finally, she pulls out the heavy artillery and starts growling. I interpret this as, "You had better pick me up and give me some love or we simply can’t be friends any longer. And, you’d better make it snappy."

At this point, I reach down and pick CoCo up and she is in heaven! A licking and tail wagging frenzy ensues. Then she settles down and I hold her in the crook of my arm for about 15 or 20 minutes or until my arm gets tired.

No sooner than I put her down and the entire cycle repeats. That little dog is just a bundle of joy and she’s a real pleasure (and a pain!) to be around. CoCo makes me feel like a rock star! She acts as if I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread. You know what? It feels really good to have someone be that excited to see you, even if it that someone is just a dog.

In observing CoCo, I have come to understand why dogs are such popular pets. They give unconditional love. People are always trying to teach their dogs tricks. Instead of always trying to teach them, perhaps we can learn a few things from our wonderful canine friends as well.

Things I’ve learned from my neighbor’s dog:

1. Persistence pays off

2. Kisses are meant to be given away, don’t be stingy

3. Protecting your territory is important

4. It’s alright to be scared in a storm

5. A simple ride in the car can be great fun

6. Its good to show others how you feel

7. Cuddling is a wonderful thing

8. Its important to get fresh air every day

9. You can never have too many toys but it’s also good to share them

10. Treating others like royalty will earn you many friends

11. You should always be adventurous and try new food

12. It’s fun to hog the bed sometimes

13. Having a few tricks up your sleeve is a good thing

14. If you’re cute enough it’s easy to get attention

15. Tail wagging is an excellent way to show appreciation

This is a story about a most unlikely couple.  They have embraced their differences and by doing so they have developed a unique and special friendship.  It appears that we can learn a lot from animals.

I hope you enjoy this sweet and heartwarming tale.

Yesterday, my cat had a stroke.  She couldn’t walk, meow, purr, or even roll over.  She’s doing a little better today, she can roll over some but still can’t walk.  We have to prop her up to feed her and we put her in a sling device to hold her over her litter box.  She has managed to drag herself across the floor a few times, which is a positive sign and she is eating, also a positive sign.  Since she doesn’t appear to be in any pain, I owe it to her to do everything in my power to help her recover.  Today I’d like to share the story of how we came to know Puddin’ along with a few of things she’s taught me.

We’ve had the good fortune of sharing our home with our cat, Puddin’, for nearly 16 years now.  This means she is going on 80 in human years.  She was a young stray when we found her or rather, when she found us.  She was hanging around the place I used to work and since she was so persistent with her little meow, I simply had to pet her.  She certainly was a lovable cat.  It was dark outside so I didn’t really get a good look at her.

After I came home from work, I told my husband about the cat and suggested we drive by there since we were going out.  He said, “That cat isn’t gonna be there, that was 2 hours ago! Besides, what would we do with it?”  Well I wanted to go back anyway, just in case.  I really had no plans of taking her home, at least consciously.  I mainly just wanted him to see her.

When we arrived back at the office, I got out of the car and called her.  I said something goofy like, “Where’s Mom’s baby?”  She instantly came running out from under a bush across the street.  My husband said, “Well I’ll be damned!”  I took this as some kind of sign and my husband just fell in love with her immediately.  He said we needed to take her home and feed her because he could feel her ribs.  “Yeah but we don’t even have a litter box or cat food or anything and I’m not sure I want an indoor cat.  What if she has fleas?” I had a million excuses but we decided we’d just feed her and keep her as an outdoor cat.  Yeah right!  That idea lasted for all of about two seconds.

We took her home and since we didn’t have any cat food we gave her tuna and milk.  We let her come in and we put the food on a plate in the foyer.  She lapped everything up in record time.  Now that I could see her in the light, I thought she was the most beautiful cat I’d ever seen.  It was those huge eyes; so big and beautiful.  She reminded me of an owl.

After her feast, we opened the door for her to leave but she didn’t want to go back outside.  NO WAY!  As far as she was concerned, she had hit the mother lode, the jackpot, the lottery!  The funny thing is she’s never been out since!  She loves being an indoor cat and loves living the life of Riley.

We originally named her Savannah but then started calling her Puddin’ because my Dad had affectionately called her that once. It was a name she responded to quite well and it seemed to be a better fit.  So we kept calling her Puddin’ and it just stuck.  She unfortunately has a slow metabolism, and is now a big fat butterball, weighing in at nearly 22 pounds.  While she no longer does back flips and now needs to be carried up the stairs, she continues to bring us much joy.

If you are lucky enough to share your home with a cat, then you know the wonder of the fabulous feline.  If you are one of those people who doesn’t like cats, I’m sorry to hear that.  I don’t understand how anybody can dislike any animal; it makes no sense to me.

Animals behave as designed by nature.  They are usually not mean spirited unless they are mistreated.  Obviously, I wouldn’t have a pet shark because their behavior isn’t really all that compatible with humans. Just because cats don’t jump all over you, slobber on you, and lick you to death doesn’t mean they don’t love you.  They simply have a different way of showing it.  Whenever I hear someone say they hate cats it reminds me of not liking someone because of their skin color.  I guess prejudice isn’t limited to human beings.

There’s an Irish proverb that says, “Beware of anyone who dislikes cats”.  My feeling is that people who don’t like cats simply don’t understand them or don’t take the time to.  I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned from my cat.  If you’re a cat lover then you can relate, if you’re not, then I hope perhaps I’ve made you more open minded to enjoying these magnificent creatures.
Things I’ve learned from my cat:

1.    Sleep does the body good
2.    Comfort is highly underrated
3.    Baroque music is soothing to the soul but silence can be golden
4.    Getting your back scratched is one of life’s great pleasures
5.    You learn when you explore; after all, the world is your oyster
6.    Stretching after a nap is highly recommended
7.    Showing no expression makes us appear less judgmental
8.    You can learn a great deal by being a good listener
9.    Don’t hesitate to give affection to those you love
10.  Your crap should be covered at all times
11.  It’s essential to be fastidious with your grooming habits
12.  Even if you’re smarter than everyone else, there’s no need to let it show
13.  Don’t worry about what others think of you
14.  It’s best to live life on your own terms
15.  When you go out on a limb, be sure to land on your feet
16.  A persistent little nudge can pay off big time
17.  Even if you’re just a kitten, see yourself as a lion
18.  Independence is wonderful and so is companionship
19.  If you have that wide-eyed, innocent look, it’s easy to get anything you ask for
20.  Purring is an excellent way to show appreciation

Dance…

like nobody’s watching

Love…

like you’ve never been hurt

Sing…

like nobody’s listening

Live…

like it’s heaven on earth

~Mark Twain