Honey and Lea

As you knowHoney and Lea are my two dogsLea is a beautiful golden retriever And Honey is a fiesty terrierI got them when I moved up here ten years agoAnd they both turned ten recently Honey came from the local dog shelter She had originally been in a home with a single mother and a babyBut she couldn't cope So Honey was left on to the shelter I can still remember the day I collected herShe was five months oldAnd so giddy and full of energy and funI brought her homeShe wasn't in the house ten minutesWhen she made herself at homeAnd jumped up on one of the chairs in our sitting areaShe was cheeky from the startAnd nothing has changed in that respectBut that is one of the things I love about HoneyThat she has a naughty streakShe knows she's only allowed on the kitchen But any chance she getsAge runs out the door and down to my bedroomOne of her favorite things to do is roll around on my bedAnd no matter how many times you tell her not to do itShe will chance her arm again and again
A few months after we got HoneyWe decided to get another dogI specifically wanted a retrieverSo I found Lea through an advertisement Again Lea was about five months when we got herFrom the startShe was the complete opposite to HoneyWhen we brought her homeShe spent the first day hiding in the bushes at the bottom of the gardenShe was super nervous And very wary of us to begin withOver time Lea has improved a lot She can still be anxiousBut she had come on leaps and boundsAnd found her confidence
My dogs have literally been a life saver And saved my sanity over and over againWhen I couldn't find a reason to get up in the morningI got up for themWhen I didn't want to leave my houseI left to walk them They give uncinditional loveAnd are always so delighted to see me if I so much as leave the room for ten minutesWhen I went in to hospital at the end of 2013 - start 2014My mother and father looked after my dogs It was around this time that Leas fur began to fall outFirst on a little patch on her backBut it soon spread so that her whole back was almost baldMy mom didn't tell me at the timeAs she didn't want to worry meBut when I went home for Christmas I saw it for myselfMy mom also told me that Lea had sunk in to a kind depression since I had leftI was worriedWe brought her to the vetThe took bloodsChecked her hormone levelsBut everything came back normalThey couldn't find any medical reason as to why her fur was falling out
I went back to hospitalAnd Lea continued to deteriorate A few weeks laterI was discharged And went home for good It was soon after this that I overdosed And all the professionals stepped inA plan was put in placeMy meds were tweaked And slowly but surely I began to improve I gained weight My mood picked upAnd my anxiety lessenedThen I noticed that Lea began to perk upHer mood improvedAnd miraculously Her fur stopped falling outAnd began to grown backWe were all shocked hereAnd my mother came to the conclusion that she had been ill because I was illAnd my illness effected her so much That she fell in to a depression and her fur fell outAs I continued to improveSo did LeaAnd it did me the world of good to see her recoverAs I'm sure it did get to see meWe spoke to a vet afterwardsAnd she confirmed that it could have been Leas stress levels that made her so unwellIt still blows my mind to think about it
When I was in hospitalEvery Wednesday nightA lady brought in a therapy dogShe went around the wards Visiting patientsLetting them stroke and play with the digSo it is recognised that dogs can aid recoveryI know my dogs massively helped me over the yearsEven when I was at my sickestI still walked them dailyFed themAnd played with themIn a lot of ways They kept me going Helped me hang onAnd most definitely kept me sane
Lea and Honey are now both ten years oldHoney has one eye leftBut she is still going strongIn dog years They are now 70So really they are elderly And I can see it in them I just can't imagine life without themThey are part of the familyAn integral part of the familyHere they are on Fathers DayCheeky Honey will never look at the camera