a dog called Lacey

It has been four years since Mary first told me that she wanted a little company in her life. She was thinking of adopting a small dog but she was worried about the amount of time she spent away from home each day and she felt that she needed to get a place of her own, rather than the tiny flat she lived in.
 
Mary had a heart condition which meant that she wouldn’t be able to have children. She yearned for ‘normal life’ and when, three years ago, a doctor offered her surgery, promising her the world, Mary leapt at the chance to change her life. She phoned me from her room the night before the operation and told me that she had received the news that day: the offer she had made on a house had been accepted and when she came home from the hospital, she would share it with a little dog.
 
Sadly, Mary didn’t survive. The operation that had been promised to change her life, took it instead. I watched helplessly as Mary’s parents struggled with their grief, their own hearts breaking under the weight of their loss. They became more and more depressed, turning first to medication and then alcohol to dull their pain. It seemed there was little anyone could do to stop their downward spiral. Friends and family turned to each other anxiously, no-one really knowing what they could do to help.
 
That was, however, until Mary’s parents met Lacey.
 
A teeny, tiny, white ball of fluff, Lacey lost no time in charming Mary’s parents. Just eight weeks old and she already knew how using her cheeky nature and little kisses to melt their hearts. Her warm little body fitted into their cupped hands but she was more interested in sitting in the crux of their necks, snuggling up tight and giving them all the love she could.
 
One year later and Lacey has truly set her mark. No more alcohol, no more medication. no more hiding in bed wishing that the day would finish before it began. Lacey makes sure that days pass well, teasing Mary’s parents, opening their shoes or catching at trouser bottoms, taking them for walks and curling up with them when they are tired. She has bought love and laughter back to the household.  Lacey has managed to give Mary’s parents back their lives.