佚名/Anonymous
I worked at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital as a counselor in the Changes Program. We help people deal with the experience of losing a pet, whether through illness, accident or euthanasia.
One time, I had a client named Bonnie, a woman in her mid-ffties. Bonnie had driven an hour and a half to see if the doctors at the hospital could do anything to help her fourteen-year-old black standard poodle, Cassandra, affectionately called Cassie. The dog had been lethargic for a week or so and seemed to be confused at times.
She had been told earlier that morning by neurologist Dr. Jane Bush that Cassie had a brain tumor that could take Cassies life at any time.
Bonnie was devastated to learn that her companion animal was so ill. That was when Bonnie was introduced to me. The ChangesProgram often helps people while they wrestled with the difficult decision of whether to euthanize a pet or let nature take its course.
Bonnie had graying, light-brown wavy hair that she pulled back into a large barrette. She had sparkling light blue eyes that immediately drew my attention, and there was a calmness about her that told me she was a person who thought things through, a woman who did not make hasty decisions.
For twenty years, Bonnie had been married to a man who mistreated her. Bonnie had tried many, many times to leave him, but she just couldnt do it. Finally, when she turned forty-fve years old, she found the courage to walk away. She and Cassie, who was four years old at the time, moved to Laramie, Wyoming, to heal the old hurts and begin a new life. Cassie loved her and needed her, and for Bonnie, the feeling was mutual. There were many rough times ahead, but Bonnie and Cassie got through them together.
Six years later, Bonnie met Hank, a man who loved her in a way that she had never been loved. They were married one year later. Their marriage was ripe with discussion, affection, simple routines and happiness. Bonnie was living the life for which she had always hoped.