Every morning or afternoon, depending on what day of the week it is, the first thing I have to do is check on these two... Bella (left) and Tyson (right).

Bella came into my life in 2010. My best friend Mikey, ended up having a litter of Doxi-Pins, which is a miniature pinscher and dachshund mix. Omg, she was sooooo tiny when I first got her that she would literally fit into the palm of your hand. At this point in my life I was barely able to take care of myself, yet alone having the responsibility of an animal. But I didn't care! She gave me peace!

All of the difficulties I was facing at that time, completely washed away when I looked at her adorable puppy face. She needed me as much and I needed her. So I did it, and became a pup dad! I was staying with a friend at the time and we took turns taking care of her and raising her. Because she was removed from her mother prematurely, we literally fed her puppy formula. It was the cutest thing when her nose would be covered it in...LOL.

How could you not fall in love with this face???

In 2019 I was introduced to Tyson by my partner David. Boy, was he a tough cookie! Except his nickname was Chookie...LOL. Tyson was rescued from a shelter in NY at about a year old. He was my partners shadow, to the point that this dog would come after me if I got too close to David. How was this going to work if this dog basically wants to chew my face off? On weekends when I would be at David's, I would wake up early, go to the local WAWA and get a cup of coffee. I'd come back and decide to take Tyson for a walk. At first he was like, "Oh hell no, I ain't getting out of this bed to go anywhere with you!", with the teeth and growling to prove it. But I was persistent. I knew how much Tyson meant to David and I made sure to gain his trust and love. Eventually, he would start waking me up to take him for a walk. Crazy right?!?

Fast forward 5 years, we are in our second home. My parents moved out to Jersey from New York and Bella who lived with them, came back to live with me! I have been lucky and blessed with my partner, who even though at times we don't see eye to eye or agree on things, we have so much love for each other. He welcomed Bella into our home, which is now called "the shelter" LOL.

We have 2 cats who are mine and now 2 dogs? Let's just say each day, "I go through shit!", but I wouldn't change it for the world. The happiness of Bella and Tyson being around, along with Kitty and Papa, really keeps me grounded.

So I guess what brought me to this post is the reality that they are all getting older, ranging from 9-13. Its scary... I will literally fall apart without any of them in my life. Our pets show us unconditional love. A love that most of us as humans should take notes on. No judgement, nothing is perfect, but they will be so grateful and happy, each and every time they see us.

Why can't we do better and follow a similar model? Do we need to bring stress and non-sense into our happiness?

They don't.

How can we get people to think about the positive things in life before going to the negative and materialistic?

Unconditional love for one another would make this world such a happy place.

Enjoy the sun... put your barefeet in the soil, breathe deep and long and remember that all the little things matter more than all of the materialistic things around us.