SO SWEET A LOVE -- A TRUE STORY

This is a true and poignant account of a special relationship between a dog who had been abandoned - thrown from a moving car on a motor-way - and a young man with a mental illness.

SO SWEET A LOVE

                  Wounded, starving and thirsty, she’d been found near the motorway. Her rib cage was alarmingly visible through the soft brown and white fur. Dried blood gathered around a freshly knocked out tooth, and she painfully dragged behind her a fractured, bloody back leg.

                            The policeman who took her to the dog shelter ventured that she had been thrown from a moving vehicle. The kindly on-duty vet concurred as he gently examined the emaciated little body. He commented on the tender, swollen teats which bore testimony to a recent litter of puppies, although she herself was no older than a year.  As his expert fingers found the injuries, she whimpered quietly. 

      Our twenty-two year-old son accompanied me when I collected her. No one knew then that Jonathan " bright, warm, gentle and artistic - was on the brink of a hellish descent into mental illness. Schizophrenia. As we looked at her, the stricken animal raised sorrowful eyes to his anxious face. In that moment a bond was formed that was to be profound and inexorable: the two fell deeply, powerfully in love.  

       We named her Dolly. Whatever unspeakable brutality she had endured in the past, she was now safely a member of our family.  Her fracture healed and she learned to eat without the missing tooth. Slowly her body grew healthy. Her fur shone and her eyes sparkled. She became mischievous and stole irresistible morsels of food from the edge of the table. She was popular with the neighbours’ children who enjoyed taking her for walks.

     She became so docile and well behaved we were able to take her to formal events such as weddings and funerals. Quite content she’d sit sedately in the back of the car until one of us was free to walk her.

      Above all, Dolly was Jonathan’s companion and became, as his mental health broke down, a mute co-conspirator in his madness. If his torment drove him to walk the streets throughout the night she was at his side, tireless and unresisting. When the chaotic thoughts abated for a while and he lay exhausted on his bed, she lay alongside him. If his psychosis prompted florid behaviour with loud music or grandiose telephone calls, she was always nearby. When he exhibited yet another symptom of schizophrenia - unprovoked chiding of loved ones with much verbal aggression - she sat at his feet trembling.

      We waited for help for Jonathan and it was slow in coming. He eventually received treatment but, with medication, it was very much ‘trial and error’. Many drugs simply didn’t suit him or " worse " gave rise to crippling side effects.  The months and years passed as the doctors worked to find suitable medication for him. During that time Jonathan’s life, and ours to a degree, was ‘on hold’. Dolly remained Jonathan’s greatest ally - always with him, unquestioning and with unconditional love of the purest kind.                                               

      Finally stabilised and with the schizophrenia at last under control Jonathan, ever articulate, was mortified about his former behaviour. His remorseful apologies for something which, after all, was not his fault were especially touching.  His pleasant, loving self re-surfaced and life became more peaceful and less challenging.

On the odd occasions when he experienced panic attacks, Dolly sat beside him, a gentle paw lifted to his knee in compassion.

      The cruelty Dolly had undergone in her young life now took its toll and she began exhibiting alarming symptoms. At the age of eight her hearing diminished. Then her eyesight began to fail. She and Jonathan continued in their relationship, he now treating her more tenderly than ever. One day when she was nine we found a worrying lump in Dolly’s throat. Panic stricken we took her to the vet. The news was not good. Cancer.

      The inescapable happened. When the day arrived, Jonathan insisted on paying for Dolly’s final ‘treatment’ out of his modest disability allowance. As the last injection was administered he kissed her velvet snout and her head and said,

"Goodbye, faithful friend. I’ll never forget you."

    Words are sometimes cheap but those were of inestimable worth.   

            

 

Reviews

[bob, small b. aka invs]

this is a touching story on a couple levels. the trials of having a loved one with a mental illness is something that only others in that position can truly understand. the trial and error in finding the right meds is frustrating and seems to take forever. the story of dolly is equally touching. i think angels come in all kinds of forms. this one happened to have 4 legs.

[Linda]

Awe!! This was really touching and beautiful. But I am sad and have to wipe tears. You are very good at your art. I wish you well and hope you will have a few minutes to read and review my short story "NEW PUPPY"
Thank You again for shairng this beautiful story! :) I am new here. This is my first day and my first story review so I am not sure on how to rate. But I would give it an A+++ if it were a school project. A job WELL DONE! :):):)