Guest Post: Kathleen Hubert

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Have you ever felt that you had hardened your heart so completely, only to find out later that this wasn’t the case, but that you couldn’t resist opening your heart one more time? I was in such position last November, a couple of years ago. The funny part is that, although not planned, this break in my own heart’s armor led to one of the best heart-made decisions that I ever made, although there may be times I become frustrated I can’t imagine ever being sorry for the choice that I made. 

I felt I was doing well with my resolve not open my heart. I decided to keep myself busy and take care of some things for one of my home income businesses. I design and make jewelry and was delivering an order to a customer, I noticed that she had several cages all throughout her yard. Most were empty and I asked her what she had in those cages and she explained that at one time she ran sort of ‘kennel. Unfortunately, this turned out to be another word for ‘puppy mill’. We were walking through the rows of cages when I spotted this little brown thing, shivering, in the corner of a cage set on a concrete slab. That was not totally surprising because it was November and very cold. 

I remembered bending down and this little head turned and looked at me with the sweetest face and the saddest eyes. I told her about how sweet this ball of fur was but the woman’s words chilled me; “if you want he then take her now. She can’t have anymore puppies and she’s not making me any money so she’s doing me no good. Otherwise, I guess I’ll have to put her to sleep or something else.” My mind was all made up that moment so I opened the cage door and held her out my hand. She came to me and I picked her up. She nuzzled just like conveying a message; “I just want love.” 

I took the baby home and named her ‘Bitsy’. Bitsy instantly wins my heart and the connection between us is absolutely amazing. She filled my days with fun and happiness like no other. This little pet helped me much in getting over the heartaches, confusion and disappointments I have in the past. She simply brought so much excitement to me and painted more colourful to my days.

Another surprise about a year or so later; Bitsy made me even happier by being pregnant and giving birth to cute pupies. I came home one night from work and found her on her blanket with the cutest little fur balls imaginable. Although I wasn’t exactly prepared for 7 of them, it seemed like every time I moved her blankie there was another puppy wiggling. See, Bitsy used to have this habit of chewing holes in her blankie and when I was straightening it I noticed something wiggling in one of the little holes. Each time I would think I was done counting puppies, here was another one. When the head count ended at 7, I was both relieved and shocked. 

Over the next few weeks of watching Bitsy with her puppies and seeing them developed; it seemed each day was a new surprise. To her credit, Bitsy was a good mama when it comes to teaching her babies. She loves showing her puppies some tricks for mooching food. Bitsy’s favorite thing is to sit and watch me eat, or anyone for that matter. When she engages in this particular past time and receives a tiny bit of attention she takes it a step further and sits on her hind legs begging for a bite. Now grant you I’m used to this. However, can you imagine looking down and seeing this line up of little pooches all sitting on their hind legs and begging, especially when the pups haven’t even begun eating solid food yet? Of course the food thing isn’t exactly a shock but coming home from work and discovering that Bitsy had moved the puppies to my bed as opposed to her own little crate definitely was. Although there may be things that are initially irritating, you can’t help but laugh at how cute and how much personality Bitsy has. 

Bitsy is not just a pet to me but an excellent best friend. She never left my side and always makes sure to lighten up my day. Its feel really magnificent knowing that there is someone that misses me and dying to see you from work. She just makes me feel being loved and needed without demanding me to do something or be someone. Bitsy teaches me to be patient and accept failures. I can’t imagine living a single day without Bitsy by my side. She just not caught my eyes but my heart too.