What is good about having a pet?
We have two pets — a dog who is turning two and a cat who is nineteen. They share almost nothing in age or energy, yet both remind me daily what companionship means.
Our dog is uncomplicated joy. She asks for little: food, company, and exercise. That’s all she needs for happiness. She’s a working dog, clever and calm, happiest when she can feel us close. When she presses her body against us on the lounge at night, she is a comforting presence.
Our cat is something else entirely. She’s lived in two countries, been through quarantine, re-homed by her first owner, and adjusted to ten different houses. Deaf now, she somehow still knows everything. She finds her bearings not by sound but by sight — by knowing where we are and joining us there. For her, home is portable. It exists in relationship, not location.
What is good about having pets? They teach us what love looks like when it isn’t trying to be impressive. They remind us that companionship is built in small, wordless ways — in being close, in curling up nearby, in trusting that where we are together, we are already home.
The Afterword 
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