Published 3:51 pm Wednesday, August 21, 2024 By The Daily News By Chris Adams I haven’t always been a true animal lover. Although I grew up with dogs and had a very special relationship with a miniature dachshund named Littles during my childhood, I still wouldn’t have called myself an animal lover. They often seemed in the way, underfoot, and always with one eye on my food.
When my wife and I were first married, I was sure that the dog she brought into the relationship was the most annoying dog I had ever met and would bark me to death. With her loud and persistent yapping, maybe she is the reason I need hearing aids at 39. Along the way, something happened.
Our family adopted a tiny kitten named Lucario, who changed my life forever. For the first 37 years of my life, I was allergic to cats. Deeply, tragically allergic to them.
For reasons I still don’t understand, my allergy vanished and so, when my family badgered me into agreeing to a rescue cat, I was able to nuzzle his neck and rub his tiny belly without feeling the grip of asthma take hold of my lungs. As I rubbed his belly for the first time, something happened to my soul. It was like a religious conversion or falling head over heels in love with someone.
As fast as the blink of an eye, I became a true animal lover. Since then, Lucario unexpectedly died. He left a hole in my heart the size of the Grand Canyon, and I never thought I’d recover.
But God has a way of surprising us, and so during our grief, we were.