My Pet Story: Odie Valentino is the pet equivalent of St Valentine to this family

Odie, here with the writer's mother, jumped into his role of an Emotional Support Dog without even being trained. Photo: Sheela Kanagasabai

MY PET STORY

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Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on Feb 14.

Generally, we consider Valentine’s Day as lovers' day or a day only meant for those who are in love. However this is not true – anyone and everyone can celebrate this beautiful day differently in their own special way.

These days, many chose to express their love to parents, children, friends and even to their pets, who share their homes and lives. It is a good day to appreciate the love and care of everyone around you.In my case, we as a family choose to book our pet from a breeder without realising it was Valentine’s Day.

Upon going through their blog web page showing three newly born black-and-white toy breed Shih Tzu Poodles, the feathered feature on the head of one pup caught our attention. Since we were also scheduled to take a holiday overseas, a deposit to collect our pet in three months concluded the deal.

When we were requested to give the pup a name, my late mother and daughter chose to bless him with this name: Odie Valentino.

Sounds familiar? Odie is the pet dog of Jon Arbuckle, the best friend and companion of Garfield and the tritagonist of the Garfield franchise. We were advised that the shorter the name, the easier it would be for our pup to identify his human "parents". As he grew, his monthly progress was captured in video format and we discovered how energetic our new arrival was.

By the time he was housebroken and came home with us, this intelligent puppy became an important part of our family.

Odie handled his puppy basic training by each member of our family very courageously. He behaved obediently and conformed to the style of living in a condominium.

He adapted to discipline and was able to overcome any bad habits like barking, jumping, begging for food, and lunging.

A lover of comfort and attention, his aristocratic demeanour and trusting temperament made him a reliable house pet. Only two things set him off: firecrackers and thunder.

Soon his favourite human "sisters" migrated abroad and Odie took on the role of an emotional support companion.

In 2013, my mother at the age of 85 years old was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer on her face. As a result of the surgery, she was no longer able to vocalise and suffered many panic attacks.

Odie's presence provided a healing effect. Without any hesitation, Odie jumped into his role of an Emotional Support Dog (ESD) despite having no training in this. While emotional support animals require much less training than a service animal, Odie met all the requirements after being assessed by our hospice doctor, because of his acute senses.

We also managed to get a medical letter to support our appeal as to why we needed to house a pet in our home (even when the new by-laws of condo living did not allow keeping pets thereat).

He was a companion who offered comfort and calmness during my mother’s rehabilitation. Diligently observing and sleeping by her bedside daily, Odie remained vigilant of every sound and movement. He gave her reason to heal herself during those mentally stressful and anxiety-driven moments of treatment.

His support and sense of purpose encouraged her to overcome her depressive episodes of numbing hopelessness.

Similarly, Odie gave me the strength to conquer my fear of isolation, when my mother eventually passed away. I remember an overwhelming feeling of sadness and how close I was to breaking point because I felt vulnerable and could not share my pain with others. Sleep was the only escape.

I did not anticipate how sensitive he was, during those trying months of loss. Honestly, the smiles Odie brings to peoples’ faces, make me the proudest fur mum in the world. It is a love that exists regardless of obstacles or imperfections, from animal to humans with just cuddly welcomes, wet nose, warm licks and a wag of his tail.

While Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love generously, not everyone is in the position to embrace the holiday of love nor is it universally celebrated in many countries.

For a change, you could do things differently and spend some time with pets and animals who need loving families, to either adopt them or sponsor/donate to NGOs that protect their welfare. It always a good time to remind ourselves, how much love there is to go around, no matter the situation or celebration.

The fact that I can share a fraction of the happiness Odie Valentino gives me with other people, is pretty rewarding. Sometimes it takes a saint in the form of a four-legged animal to bring out the best in any given occasion.