“If you want to understand a person’s life, ask them about their pets.”
Some memories fade with time, faces blur, dates slip away and details get lost in the shuffle of life. But for those of us who’ve shared our journey with pets, the timeline of our lives is easier to trace. We measure the years not just by where we lived or what we achieved, but by the loyal companions who walked beside us.
Every pet leaves a bookmark. Every bookmark tells a story. And together, those stories shape the narrative of who we are.
The First Bookmark
I grew up in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, and in 1967 we moved to Jackson’s X, then on the very edge of town, surrounded by open green fields. It was a childhood filled with freedom and fresh air, but also, as I learned early on, heartbreak.
One morning, I remember my father coming into the house, his face pale and shaken. Our dog, my loyal friend and playmate, had been poisoned. In those days, farmers often laid poison in their fields and he must have gotten into it. My father had found him fitting by the roadside before he finally passed.
I was only a young boy and it was my very first experience with death. I didn’t have the words to describe it then, but looking back now, I realise that was my first “bookmark” in this lifelong journey with pets, the moment I learned that love, as precious as it is, sometimes comes hand in hand with loss.
Chapters of Love and Loyalty
Over the decades that followed, there were other moments of heartbreak, but far more moments of joy. Each pet that came into our lives brought with them a different kind of magic, their own quirks, personalities and gifts.
Some became silent confidants, listening patiently as the children whispered their deepest secrets. Others were boundless balls of energy, racing around the garden, turning ordinary afternoons into adventures. They were always there, whether it was curling up beside us during quiet moments of sadness or joining us in noisy, chaotic bursts of laughter.
Time passes quickly, almost in a blur, but isn’t that the essence of life? These pets give us everything they have, their trust, their love, their loyalty and in return, we give them a home, safety and the comfort of belonging. It’s a simple, beautiful exchange. And yet, when they leave us, the absence feels enormous.
The Stories They Leave Behind
When we look back, we often remember stages of our lives by the pets we had at the time:
“Oh, that was when we had Rex.”
“That must have been the year Daisy chewed the kitchen chair.”
“Remember when Max used to guard the gate like a soldier?”
And inevitably, each chapter ends the same way, with heartbreak. But almost always, the next sentence begins:
“And then we got…”
And just like that, a new bookmark is set, a new story begins, and life carries on, richer, fuller and warmer for the love we’ve shared.
A Family Portrait, Christmas 1987
There’s a photograph I treasure, taken at Christmas in 1987, our first Christmas as new parents with our baby boy, Robert. Standing proudly beside us in that picture is Rambo, our first pet after we got married.
Rambo wasn’t just a dog; he was a guardian, watching over our newborn son as if his life depended on it.
No smartphones, no instant uploads, no filters, just a simple camera, a proud mother, a proud father and the furry protector who completed our little family. That picture, frozen in time, carries with it the warmth, love and chaos of those early years.
The Memories That Never Fade
Looking back now, I see a lifetime marked by these beloved companions, the silent witnesses to our childhood dreams, growing pains, heartbreaks and triumphs. They’re woven into the fabric of our memories in ways that words can only begin to capture.
Every pet leaves a bookmark. Every bookmark tells a story. And together, they remind us that the greatest love stories are often the simplest, the ones told without words, through a wagging tail, a warm nuzzle or the quiet comfort of a companion who asks for nothing in return.
So, when we turn the pages of our lives, we find them there, always, in the margins of our memories, in the softest corners of our hearts. Their stories never truly end. They just live on, in us.
Mick
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