第7章若别离，莫相忘（6）
&oldmehisnamewasOzzieandhewasabouttwoyearsold。HehadbeehepreviousteriedtheirbesttobutfelttheeforOzziewasnotveryfortable。Overtimetheyhadbeeattachedbutreallywaoseehimgotoagoodhome。
ThiswasthelastthingIwantedasIwasocareforapet。ToappeasetheboysIwentintotheroomwheretheykepthim。Ididypeofresponse。So，Istartedtotalktohimandasked，“Ozzie，doyouwahme?”OutfromuhebedcamethisbeautifulblackdogwiththebiggesteyesIhadeverseen!
Hecamerighttomeandbarked。Iuhattomean，“aiti’sgo!”Hehadtotallywonmeoverandhadedhispawarouwasthebeginningpartnership!WesettledinandImustsaytothisdaywhenIthinkbaetogetherIamamazedathowmuedaboutmyself。
Unallovewasatthistopofthelist。kindofmoodIwasin，Ozziehadawayofbeioreadmelikeabook!
Thiswassomethi。
Hehadhiswayofgtomethatheuoodandwouldofferfortthatiritsimmediately!
IfIwassadhewouldstayomeandlookintomyeyesahatbriomyeyeseventoday。Hewouldreadgentlytouchmyfacewithhispaw。Asyouwellimagihingswouldthehtheworldwasthatwasbme。
Weexperiencedourfirstearthquaketogether。Whatamemorythatwas!IgrabbedOzzieandstoodihedoorframeaswewerebeingjostledaround，ItoldhimitwasMotherNaturehigandasscaredashewasheseemedtoknowIwastryingto。
&hegroundstoppedshakioputsomesuppliesiotaketomyedtowatdwhatIwasdoing。AsIaringtoleavehegotinthebagandjustbarkedaookthattomean“Hey，youarenotleavingmebehind!”
It’ssoveryspeyouhavethesemomentsasitisasuresignofaveryspedthatstartstogrowtoincludebodylanguageahappenswithadogitisen。
IalwaysfeltthatOzziehadanunyabilitytoknowwhateant。MsIwouldstirandcallout“Breakfast”。Ozzieoffthebedandru。Iwouldpretendtogobacktosleep。WewouldplaythisgameabouttwotimeswhenfinallyforthethirdtimeIwouldsay“Breakfast”，Ozziewouldstarttoleappauseandturhalookthatsaid"OhNo!Iamwisetothat!"
Ozziewasveryhealthyallhislifeandnotafussyeater。IfthereeoffoodthatIwouldservehimthathedidn’tlikeIwouldaskhimto“pleaseeatitandIwouldnotbuyitagain。”Iwasverysurprisedwhenhewouldeatit!Iwouldgivehimabathwhiethingheenjoyed。
Wheheageof15thatisseventimesahuman’sagesoheindeedwasasenior!HedevelopedaknownasCitistus。Thisisfatalforamaledogifheyareourinate。Sohewouldhave“attadIwouldhavetorushhimtothevet。Itwentthiswayforafewmonthsuwasabletogivememediethatstoppedtheproblem。Ihadtobesurehetookthemedidwatchhimverycarefully。Atthisagethevetsaidtoexpegahingbuthereicely。
WherewelivedOzziewastheonlydog。Iheo。So，hebecamethe“masdularwithalltheneighbors。Hewouldvisitandkeeppanywithsomeofthetenantsandtheywerealwaysdelightedandwouldgivehimtreatshisfavanyki。
AboutayearafterhisboutwiththecitistusOzzie’ssightandheariogo，alongwithlosingtrolofhisbowels。Iwouldhavetoupafterhimahaneyedropper。Iknewhewasgoingaobeinfamiliarsurroundings。
Ithadbeensugroadwehadtraveled!IfeltsohonoredaohavebeeohaveOzziebeepartofmylife。
ThereisnodoubtthatItrulyfeelthatwelearnsomeofourlife’slessonsfromourpets。FromOzzieIlearrustahebiggestlessontomewaswhenthiofdytheendofyourrope，helpsomeonewhoisihenyoutakeyourmindoffyourself。ThiseomewhenOzziewassick。Ihadmahattime，butIfogforOzzie，andithelpedmereleasealotofstressandasnotthinkingaboutmyself。
ItooksomevaefrommyjobandmadeOzzieasfortableasIcould。Afterallwehadbeenthroughalottogethera。
OnFebruary1，1991Ozziedied。Hewas16yearsold。
Ihadpickedhimupanderingtohimwhatabraveandwonderfulpanionhehadbeen，butitwasokayifhehadtoleaveme。IpromisedhimIwouldbeokay。Withthatheweaklybarkedhisgoodbye。
Ihadhimcrematedandhisashesscatteredureeoerygrounds。
Atthetimemybossviewedalossofapetthesameasthelossofafamilymemberaimeoff。
&wasbrokeninamillionpieces。IsaidIwouldbeokayandIhadmadeapromisesolifewenton。IstillmissOzzieandit’sbeen10years!Hemadealastingimpressionandimpaylifesodeepthatithastakehislongtowriteaboutit。
Ifeelheisalwayswithme，andwillalwaysholdaspecialplamyheartthathashadtimetohealsincehispassing。
&hsafterOzzie’sdeathIhadfallenasleepandhadadreamaboutveryloudinmyear。Iwokewithastarttothesmellofsmoke。Ihadleftapaove，andOzziewokemeup!