I remember very clearly on one occasion waking up in the morning to find the dog had given birth. To my grandmother’s horror Stubborn had strangled and killed all four puppies by biting them on the neck until they had suffocated. My grandmother almost beat the dog to death. From then on she said we had to watch her very carefully and make sure that when she delivered puppies we were there to grab them from her. We never did. We were always too late as she usually gave birth in the night.

Then there was the neighbour’s dog that was taller than me. I had to look up to see the dog’s head. Scary. It could jump over the fence too. I was terrified of that dog and never ventured anywhere near that fence.

Later, when I was about 12 I asked my parents for a dog. They got me one. I called him Mischa, after a comic book character that I had been reading about. Great dog. We had many great times together.

Every day I had to prepare food for him and feed him. I remember he would bark at me and tug at my clothes before eating if I did not put enough food in his bowl. I would do that deliberately just to see what he would do. It was such a laugh.

I played with him a lot. I got many bruises in the process, but I did not care. I knew he was a dog and did not mean to hurt me when that happened. I just had to be careful.

But the one thing I know is that having a pet as a teen helped me through some difficult times. When I was sad I would go out and sit with him. Somehow I think he could understand. He would just sit there too and look contemplative.

When I was happy or in love he was there. I could tell him about it and not have to worry about anyone else finding out.

I guess he was “in  love” himself too sometimes because at certain times he would just disappear for days on end without a trace. Then he would show up with bruises and bite marks all over the place, looking all sad and wanting some attention. No doubt he had had to fight for his “woman.” Well, a dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do.

I would nurse him back to health and take care of him. He had a character all his own which sometimes seems more real than even some people I know. Looking after him taught me discipline. It taught me the value of having responsibilities at home and being responsible for “someone” else’s life. He was a great friend.

Well, it occurred to me the other day that I am probably not alone in feeling so strongly about a pet. There are many people for whom having a pet is a real blessing. I can imagine that blind man who depends on his dog to see for him. Or that child that is overcoming learning difficulties through having and caring for a pet – they have been shown to be of great therapeutic value in a lot of conditions.

It also occurred to me just how easy it would be to put all that knowledge and passion for a pet or pets to practical use in terms of having an income. How? By putting your knowledge and experiences on a website. It is a great way to turn your passion for pets into a successful business.

There are plenty of people with stories similar to the ones I have just told you. There are also plenty of people like me out there who just love to read stories about dogs or animals. I mean, anything from tips on how to look after the pet, how to feed it right, what products to use to care for the pet and so on are potential story or article ideas. The list is endless.

Another crazy, but cool idea I have is to put all my stories with Mischa on a website as a dedication to his memory. That would be so cool to keep his memory alive that way. Am sure I will get down to it very soon.

I am looking forward to hearing your pet story on your website.