I’ve always been an animal lover. There are none (except spiders and snakes) I don’t like. Though you know I am a cat person, you may not know that I like dogs, too! More importantly, dogs also like me. Mostly!

One of my doggy friends is Maggie, doggy companion of Liz, Jim, and Jamie. A rescue dog, she’s had a tough time of it, learning to trust people, learning to behave, expressing herself in ways that earn her a nice pat on the head and a reassuring “Good dog!” She is a good dog! And a beauty.

I was pleased to get a signed photo of Maggie of maggie0019 when I was ill and then in therapy. It cheered me and I couldn’t wait to get home to hang it where i could see it easily and often.

Right next to Andy and Dougy as kittens, you’ll find a signed photo from my dog buddy Maggie! The drawn cat was a gift from Kaelia, now 19 years old (!), who was a little kid of  seven when she drew that kitty and gave it to me to cheer me up when I was recovering from my initial flare of Wegener’s granulomatosis. It doesn’t show that well in the photo, but her teacher wrote this critique of the drawing in the upper right hand corner: “Wow!”

I thanked Liz (Maggie’s “human Mom”) at the time. She also sent me a white blanket (fuzzy like a Persian kitty and very comfortable) that I use at dialysis. Chris of contrafactual sent me a tasty basket of citrus from his personal citrus tree at the same time. I’d just learned I was supposed to restrict certain foods in my diet. No more bingeing on citrus for me, so I shared the majority of the fruit with staff at the care center where I was at the time. It was much appreciated! Liz and Chris definitely were a positive factor in my recovery.

Later, Pam, Chris’ wife made and he sent a beautiful afghan that showed up in the corner of a recent Dougy photo.

There’s Pam’s beautiful (and very useful!) afghan on the left, hanging on the recliner.

I feel blessed with these friends!