Lucky

[okarol]

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you
don't. A good message for caregivers too.

-------------------

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, whining and 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

.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 generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

[annabanana]

This is a very beautiful story! Thanks for posting it. 

[Sluff]

Very touching. Great read. 

[Lori1851]

Precious Story!!!!!! I have 2 dogs and a cat!!!

Lori/Indiana

[willieandwinnie]

I'm  again. What a touching story.

[mikey07840]

 

  That made me cry too! Thanks for sharing.

Mikey

[petey]

This story reminds me of my dog, Hop-Sing.  My Marvin was in the hospital for 42 days (three different occasions) during Dec., late Jan., and Feb.  At night, I would come home by myself.  Hop-Sing is my five-year-old Pug/Pekingese mix.  Without children, I've always treated Hop-Sing like my "baby."  He has a box full of toys (Marvin teases me and says that if I had all the money back that I've spent on toys, we'd be rich!).

Every night, Hop-Sing sleeps in the bed between me and Marvin.  The first night I came home from the hospital without Marvin, I found about 30 of Hop-Sing's squeaky toys in my bed.  I was too tired to move them, so I slept with them and with Hop-Sing.  The next morning as I was getting ready to go back to the hospital, I carried all of those toys back to Hop-Sing's toy box in the living room so I could make the bed.  I spent a long day at the hospital, only to come home and find all of those toys -- and even more -- in my bed again!  That night, I was too tired again, so I slept with them and Hop-Sing.  The next morning, I carried every one of the toys back down the hall to the living room and Hop-Sing's toy box.  I even grumbled about the "extra work" Hop-Sing was putting on me.  When I got to the hospital and told Marvin about all of the toys in our bed, he said, "Hop-Sing spent all day carrying those toys one-by-one back to the bed for you.  He snuggles with them, and he must have thought you might want to, too.  Just imagine how many trips he had to make to get them all back in the bed, and know that he was thinking about you every step he made."

I cried.

Well, our life is back to almost normal now.  Marvin's home and much, much better.  But, our king-sized bed is extra full now.  There's Marvin sleeping on one side, me on the other, and Hop-Sing and about 50 of his toys in the middle.  I haven't moved them out of the bed yet.  I'm going to let Hop-Sing decide when we're "okay" again and don't need them.

[willieandwinnie]

petey, I've missed your post. But must you almost always write something that makes me  Willie and Winnie also bring all their toys and cover them up in the bed. It's lovely to roll over in the middle of the night to a squeaky toy. 

[rose1999]

Oh Petey what a touching story - thanks WandW for making me smile through the tears.

[NolaGail]

Petey,

Thank you for the story and for reminding me not to take my 'bestest friends' for granted  . They hurt when we hurt and miss us when we have to be away.

NolaGail

[petey]

P.S. to my previous post -- Marvin won't move Hop-Sing's toys out of our bed, either.  But he does fuss and complain a lot about them.  Just this morning, Marvin woke up and said, "Have you ever spent the night with a squeaky toy up your butt?  I did last night!"  We both had a good laugh, but neither of us moved the toys!

[Sunny]

On some days, walking my beloved dog is what gets me out there into the world.