I am a pet lover, If an animal doesn't bite or eat me, I am their friend. My wife used to say, "Honey, you like animals more than people". In a whole bunch of cases, this is true. I was born and raised on a farm, I grew up with animals, big and small. I have had, not owned, animals. They all become part of my family.
Case in point, I am a retired Police Sergeant of thirty years of service. One day, on the way to work, I saw a sad, but beautiful golden retriever standing on the sidewalk. I was about a mile from the police station. I wanted to stop and see if she had been injured. Since it was about time for me to go on duty, I reluctantly passed her by. I proceeded to my duty station and while putting on my uniform, I heard a clicking sound on the cement floor. As I was dressing, the retriever came up to me. She had pushed the locker room door open to get in and find me. She followed my car all the way to the station. There stood the retriever I would soon name Duchess. My wife said I should have named her Angel. Not knowing what to do, I instructed the desk officer to call Animal Regulations. She knew she had me in her grip. By the time animal regulations arrived, she knew she had found her home. I told Animal Regulations I wanted to keep her. They had to check her out before allowing me to take her home. I had told them when my Shift ended, when it did, there stood Duchess waiting for me. We were both excited to see each other. We went home and my wife immediately fell in love with our new family member. Animal Regs. said she was about two years old.
We had settled in for the night, with Duchess sleeping on the floor beside me, started whining and scuffling on the floor. Yes, She had a nice soft blanket to sleep on. She was having a seizure. I managed, with my very concerned wife, to get my newly found family member to the Veterinarian. The diagnosis was epilepsy. The doctor prescribed phenobarbital.
Skip to about four years later, I was attempting to crawl under my car to change the oil. Duchess came running up to me and grabbed my right arm to pull me away from the car.
I thought she wanted to play, when she let go of my arm, I again attempted to crawl under the car, once more, she tried to pull me away. At this point, my grandson, finished the oil change.
She didn't react the same way when he crawled under the car. My daughter was taking picture
of my horses and managed to get a picture of my attempt to change my oil. We never did find out why she acted the way she did. My wife said, she must have sensed danger for me but not my grandson.
She passed away two years later at the young age of seven, Since coming home with me, she was my constant companion and Guardian Angel. The phenobarbital destroyed her stomach.
I had to take her to the vet one last time. In the waiting room she sat beside me with her chin across my leg. She knew what was happening and wanted me with her when she passed. That day I lost my Guardian Angel, but my heart went with her. Needless to say, years later, I still miss and grieve for her.