Animal teaching life lesson

It was Christmas Eve two years ago and i was looking forward to the festivities. The house smelled the way I have always known it to smell over the holidays especially if my mother was busy in the kitchen making dinner and cookies that we all loved so much. My entire family was home for Christmas and it was fun most of the time when I was not busy arguing with my sister Abby. For some reason the two of us never really got along, always at each other’s neck. As usual, we got into a fight over who was to get my grandmothers box of mementos that she had collected over the years.
It would have been easier to let her have it but neither of us liked losing especially to each other. My mother in the midst of making dinner tried to intervene but we were too far-gone so she gave up. Most of these arguments always end up in tears but I was determined not to let Abby see me cry. Bobby, a dog I had adopted from the local animals shelter somehow always sensed my emotions and he was trying to soothe me by placing his head on my lap and looking at me with those soulful big eyes. I loved him and he loved me back. He did not like my sister she was always too busy to play with him.

I remember feeling anger and sadness after a very intense argument with Abby. I needed to get away for a while and somehow cool off. It was a cold December evening; the snow was blocking the driveway so taking a drive was not an option since I did not feel like I had the energy to shovel out the snow. I gingerly put of my coat, a hat, and a pair of gloves and stepped out to take a walk. faithful bobby, always followed me every time I took a walk I guess he enjoyed our evening walks too and this time round it was no different, he showed up next to me with his collar clearly he was not going to be left behind. I put the collar on him as I rubbed his neck, because he loved it. We finally stepped into the cold winter evening. All I wanted to do was clear my mind so we headed to the local coffee shop. It was going to be a long walk in the winter cold but we both did not mind. Bobby was walking besides me while wagging his tail excitedly and every once in a while he would stop to look at other dogs and bark I guess it must be how dogs acknowledge each other’s presence.
The air was crisp and cold; shoppers were huddled in their winter coats to keep off the cold as they hurriedly did last minute Christmas shopping. The streets were crowded, the shoppers seemed to be having a great time, and it got me wondering why I could not enjoy my favorite holiday. I decided to call two of my friends to meet me for coffee as we passed the time. I put my hand in the coat pocket and withdrew my cell phone….

Standing at the side of the street busy texting my friends, I heard bobby barking frantically all of a sudden. I initially did not pay any attention to him until he started tagging at my pants with his teeth. I got the feeling he was trying to tell me something important and so I looked up. I was right; a truck was swerving out of control towards me. I was paralyzed on the spot but bobby would not let go.
I finally regained my composure and I started running away from the truck. People were all shouting at me to get out of the way. I finally burst into the coffee shop out of breadth. I looked to the side and realized that bobby was not at my side. I ran back outside but I did not anticipate what I saw. Bobby was lying on the ground whimpering in pain. For a moment, I was scared I was going to lose him. I knelt beside him to observe what was wrong as people gathered around me. Nothing seemed to be wrong but he whined in pain every time I touched his legs. A good Samaritan offered to give us a ride to the vet.

This particular vet was a neighbor of ours and so he knew bobby. He looked at us with concern as I explained what had happened. He concluded that bobby had been hit by the truck and broken his two back legs. He treated him and tied splints to his legs. He gave us a ride back to the coffee shop since he was headed there anyway. I ordered some coffee while trying to figure out who I should call to pick us up. My sister Abby was the only option. I grudgingly called her and begged her to come pick us up. I was not looking forward to seeing her again since I felt it was her fault that this had happened. I was beginning to lose patience with her and after countless cups of coffee, she finally showed up.
I was all ready to fight but turns out the time apart had thawed her feeling. She seemed genuinely sad at the sight of bobby in pain. Surprisingly she was considerate and sympathetic and I did not have it in me to fight her anymore. we drove home in complete silence but Abby finally cracked the ice and apologized for the argument we  got talking and we agreed it was pointless to keep fighting so much, we decide to find another way to be dealing with our differences since we were always going to have many of those every once in a while. I could not believe how lucky I was; turns out that bobby not only saved my life at the risk of his but also saved my relationship with my sister. Things have not been the same since. Bobby has since healed and he never leaves my side, Abby and I are also getting along great thanks to my dog.