Since the first day we brought Mom her dog Timmy from the pound, I have never heard Mother call him by his name. Granted it isn’t the worlds greatest moniker, but he responded to that name at the shelter and so we kept it for ease of his transition.

Timmy never ceases to amaze me in how he interacts with my Mother. She never gives him any real direction and when she does it is often confusing. Because of his size she will often refer to him as her cat (she does have three) and sometimes call him saying “Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.”  He doesn’t respond to being addressed as a cat. Timmy wags his tail and comes to almost any term of endearment she throws at him, but he will not respond when she calls him Kitty.

Timmy is with her constantly, either at her heels or on her lap. Although she doesn’t properly communicate with him, Timmy has Mom well-trained. He lets her know when he needs to go out, when he is hungry and when he wants to go for a walk. Because of her memory issues Timmy gets food and walks when ever he asks for them, which is about four or five times a day!

Timmy’s devotion is so beautiful to watch and I am so grateful, being a dog, he doesn’t know of all the times Mom will ask “Who’s cat is that?” or “Is that your dog?” or “Is that dog a boy or a girl?”.  He is blissfully ignorant and full of love.

Regardless of the situation he always seems to persevere. A few nights back I heard Mom calling out from her bedroom. I went in, turned on the light and Mom was lying on her side, a bit distressed. I asked Mom what was wrong and she said “Some type of critter seems to have crawled into my bed and I can’t get it out. Can you help me?” I scanned the room looking for her devoted companion, he was conspicuously absent so of course I knew what I would find. I lifted the sheets and there was Timmy, curled up sleeping behind her knees.

I pulled him out and showed him to Mom and she said “Oh is that your little dog?” I reminded her that he belonged to her and his name was Timmy. She replied “I didn’t remember that I had a little dog but he can stay on top of the covers if he wants”. I set Timmy on his little blanket on top of the bed, turned off the light and left. As I walked down the hall I could hear her calling to him softly “Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.”