My 84-year-old father lives in Denver, Colorado. He is trying to recreate some semblance of normalcy following the unanticipated loss of my mom in June- his wife of 57 years. He recently had cataract surgery that, thankfully, has allowed him to read again. He surprised me at work the other day with a telephone call. He wanted to let me know that he had been reading Speaking for Spot.
I must tell you- I was rather flabbergasted! My dad has never had any real interest in dogs or, for that matter, animals of any kind. In fact, he doesn’t really “get” the human animal bond. He was a great dad, but he never understood what my passion about animals was all about. When I was ready to make the drive from Colorado to Ithaca, New York where I was about to begin veterinary school, my dad’s parting words were, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to medical school?” Just imagine my surprise when he told me he was reading Spot. When I asked him why, he explained, “Since my daughter wrote it, I thought I ought to read it.” Needless to say, I was simply thrilled! I asked, “So Dad, what do you think of it.” I laughed out loud when he responded, “To tell you the truth, I’m finding it a bit monotonous.”
Tags: Dr. Nancy Kay, Father, human-animal bond, Speaking for Spot
Speaking for Spot's Weblog 