Childhood pets have a special place in our hearts. They may represent unconditional love and our first experience of the human-animal bond. My own first pet, the family dog, Taffy, was there from day one, because she was adopted the year before I was born. So I grew up with her as a constant part of my life. In fact, I think I was aware of her before I was aware of my siblings. Taffy was an Irish Setter. Not a common breed around here nowadays. People joke that they aren’t very smart, that their brains are in their beautiful mahogany coats, but Taffy was smart enough, and a very loving companion. She had a litter of puppies before she was spayed, and she was a healthy, active dog most of her life.
Taffy traveled with us, and moved from city to city with us. She adapted and went on loving us, but especially my father, unconditionally. I learned a lot from this early relationship, not least of which was the first experience of loss and grief. When she died at the age of 13 she was boarding at an animal hospital while my parents were on vacation. I was staying with my brother. We didn’t realize the animal hospital didn’t have a contact phone number, so when she died they couldn’t let us know. It wasn’t until we went to pick her up that we found out. It’s likely she died of kidney failure, the vet said, probably because she was quite old. It hit us all very hard, especially because we went from anticipating the joy of reunion to shock and grief so quickly. I had never lost anyone in my family up until that point, and the experience was so unexpected and new that it overwhelmed me for awhile. It might seem a common first loss for a child, but that doesn’t make it any less significant, even for an adult. The thing that still comes back to me about it is that I saw my father cry, something I hadn’t seen before then or afterwards.
The pets we grew up with. They opened up emotions, provided loving companionship, and even led to lifelong callings. I may have become a veterinarian because of Taffy. The memory of her gentle presence has stayed with me for over 50 years. A beautiful big red dog.
