I’ll attempt to explain how much my little soldiers have provided such an extraordinarily high level of support throughout my battle with the MonSter.  My husband had his dog Ima when we married and I wanted a cat, so we made an agreement that when we bought a house, I would find a cat.  Within a few days of moving into our home, our cat (who I named Goliath) was featured in the local newspaper as a pet of the week with the humane society.  Ima and Goliath began our “collection” of domestic pets in 1997, but the following photo comprises Team Anderson Christmas ’12:

We were at our first home for four years, where our brood grew to four male cats and two female dogs.  It was September 2001 when we purchased our next home, from my now late Grandparents.  It was bigger and it was equipped with Air-Conditioning, something we came to discover was going to be necessary in order for me to function at optimum performance  (at least during summer) with MS.  The new home also came with a large garden window in which all the boys loved to perch where they had a very clear view of wildlife entertainment.  Our suburban “wildlife” was a variety of birds, the backyard Koi pond and an abundance of squirrels found in the several massive Evergreen trees in the neighborhood.

While MS was becoming an issue at work, my husband had quietly begun the task of obtaining information for the filing for disability.  He was more proactive than I was with that because he stood back and observed while I began recognizing that the number of “good” days at work were diminishing, and then further recognized that my remaining active days at work were limited.  At night after work, I had mentioned that I might consider resigning from the credit union.  My direct manager and the HR manager were already aware that I have MS, so my husband and I developed a tentative exit strategy while I was still gainfully employed so that I could obtain what I believed would be “short-term disability-pay.”

My last day at work was during mid-October.  That day, I got settled at my desk for my day, but I had a bad feeling and felt, “off” while I fought mentally for the next hour while I analyzed my WIP loan files (Works-In-Progress).  I tried to work while I determined if I should go home for the day and when I didn’t locate my manager, I sent her an email explaining I needed to leave and would see her tomorrow.  I was a silly girl for being so optimistic because I woke the next day with vertigo and slowly made my way to the family room where I parked myself on the sofa and equipped myself with my Bible, a notebook and the TV remote on the off-chance I could pay attention for longer than five seconds.

I always found it amusing how much all of our house pets were attuned to my health, like when earlier in the year, our area experienced an earthquake, but long before it occurred, I woke with severe vertigo and called in to work that I would not make it in that day.  The day of the earthquake, I was also lying on the sofa surrounded either on the sofa or close-by on the floor, by our brood, when about seven minutes before the actual earth quake, the pups both started pacing/running back and forth from the front of the house to the back and the cats who were awake became skittish.  At work the next day, everyone thought I knew of the impending earthquake.  I am not now, nor have I ever been clairvoyant.  However, as our bodies are 75% water, I believe that the pending earthquake shook-up my equilibrium during my sleep cycle and caused me to wake with vertigo.

The many days with vertigo were always made easier by the cuddling and unconditional loves provided by the company of one of our brood of creatures.  If you haven’t experienced such relationships, head to the Humane Society where a loving critter, who is anxious to find a “forever-family,” is available.  Almost 17 years of marriage and we’ve adopted 11 critters, two of whom were in the original clan of pets.  The loss a family member is always difficult and people sometimes forget that pets are part of our family.  In nearly two decades, we’ve said good-bye to five pets due to terminal illness.  The cost of pet care isn’t the issue, but the consideration of pets not being able to understand why the people who are supposed to care for them allow them to be poked and prodded by needles for IV’s, is something that  my husband and I see as inhumane.  That is our personal conviction.  The loss never becomes easier, although, with time, our thankfulness that God allowed us to temporarily become “parents” for one of his individual creations is a tremendous blessing.  Pets are never alike, but they become whatever their environment allows and one thing has become excessively clear that all of the creatures in our brood are indulged with an abundance of love, care and play.  If it isn’t clear upon how friendly they are when meeting them and the assumption that all strangers are provided for their amusement, then the delicate softness of the pads of their feet shall affirm everything.

If you don’t have a four-legged critter and do not have any allergies that allergy-shots can help control, then please consider locating and taking a jaunt to your local ASPCA shelter:  http://www.aspca.org/adopt/shelters