"My mother's Shadow." (How a dog rescued a family.)

[pnwmom]

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/09/my-mothers-shadow/?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region®ion=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region

“Before I die, I want to get a dog,” my mother said.

It was 2004, and she had been pining for a pet for two years. I didn’t believe she’d get one. It was a dumb idea. I pictured the huge sheep dogs and German shepherds that lived outdoors in our Bosnian homeland.

Now that we were in the United States, Mom pictured a little poodle or terrier she’d keep in the house, which seemed extravagantly American. At the time, my brother, Eldin, and I had no jobs, thousands of dollars in student loan debt — I was 24, and had just finished graduate school — and two parents recovering from major illnesses. We couldn’t afford a purebred.

“Let’s go to the Humane Society and rescue one,” she said.

We knew what it meant to be rescued. With the help of a few brave Christian friends, my Muslim family had miraculously survived the ethnic cleansing campaign against us in the Balkan War in 1992. In January 1993, we escaped and, after 10 months in Vienna, arrived in the United States to make a new home in Connecticut.

SNIP

[shenmue]

1. Adoption: always squee

[No Vested Interest]

2. Beautiful story. Thanks for bringing it to us

here on DU. I likely would have missed it otherwise.

[pnwmom]

3. You're welcome.

We recently lost a dog (due to cancer) and were blown away by the loss. Pets are so important to so many of us.

[joeybee12]

4. Big knr...

[ND-Dem]

5. That's a sad story.

[pnwmom]

6. Life can be sad. But I don't think the story was truly sad.

The dog helped the family get through some difficult years, and then it was time for the dog to go.

That's the way life is.

[Hekate]

7. "When was the last time we’d all laughed?" What a wonderful story. Thank you. nt

[Suich]

8. What a wonderful story!

Thanks for posting, pnwmom!