I’ll always remember 2017 as one of the hardest years of my life. My Grandma’s passing was still fresh and was still affecting my everyday life like it had happened just the day before. I couldn’t find the drive that I used to have in me, I was skipping classes and sports practices, I was severely struggling in school, I hated doing the things I once loved, and I was constantly fighting with my thoughts – all while trying to keep a straight face.
The thing that hurt me the most was that it wasn’t just happening to me, but my whole family. I could visibly see the hurt and depression that was weighing on all of our shoulders and the days simply seemed to drag. I won’t forget how upset seeing my family in pain made me. I felt completely helpless because all I wanted to do was help make the hurt go away and fix them. But there was nothing I could do if I couldn’t even find the heart to try and fix myself. My childhood home – once full of life and joy, fun and laughter permeating through every room, now had this cold and blue cloud casted over it. I started to make my mind accept what I figured would be our new normal. “This is how it’s going to be from now on, I guess,” I would tell myself. I saw little to no hope for my own future which made it hard to want to keep going, that was until I met my best friend: Ziggy.
I was driving with a few friends who were dropping me off at my house and on the way there we come to an abrupt stop. This crazed, small dog just stopped right in front of our car showing little to no fear. I urged my friends to go around him and keep going because I was never one to pick up stray dogs and I also really just wanted to get home. My friends insisted on picking him up and trying to locate the owner. 2:1 said we’d pull over and pick up the little guy, and so we did. We opened the door and with no hesitation he jumps in the car. I rolled my eyes while my friends giggled and shrieked with excitement. Something felt a bit off in that moment, but in a good way that I hadn’t felt in a while. I remember noticing this angel-like cross on his chest and my soul felt calm. I sat there looking at him while his little brown bug eyes were looking right back at me and for the first time in what had felt like an eternity, I smiled sincerely, and I felt complete joy.
After hours of trying to locate his owner and finding out he showed signs of abuse, we decided I would take him home for the weekend until the pet shelter opened on Monday so I could take him in. I grew worried fast because I wasn’t quite sure of the reaction he would generate in my household, but I took the chance and brought him home. Introducing him to my brother went as well as I expected and just like me, he instantly fell in love with him. A few hours later, my Mom came home from work with the same tired and sad look in her eyes. The second the door opened Ziggy excitedly ran to my mothers’ legs and we stood there and held our breath. While I put my head down preparing to be lectured, I got a reaction I never in a million years would have expected. She simply smiled and proceeded to hold him. I instantly saw my mom’s shoulders relax and saw this glimmer in her eyes that I forgot she had. That’s when I knew – he was meant to find us.
We spent the whole of that weekend desperately trying to find his owners because we were sure someone might be missing him, but it was easy to see just how big of an impact Ziggy already had on my family. It was like he was the piece of our lives that had been missing and he fit right in. Through him we discovered a love that we each desperately needed and to this day I am convinced something called him to stop right in front of my car that day. My father who once stated he’d never want a small indoor dog is now showering him in more gifts than he does his own children. My mother who struggled to find the motivation to take care of herself is now feeling the urge to be active and present for him. And my brother and I once helpless and believing the world would forever have a dark shadow casted over us no longer have doubts: that even though our loved ones are no longer with us physically, it is evident they are with us always.
One weekend has turned into 4 years and counting, and I couldn’t be happier. We brought this little brown dog into our home thinking we were rescuing him from his troubles and little did we know he would be rescuing my family and I.