Puppylicious

Keira. 

Chopin, Silvi and their puppies. 

Melissa, my ginger labrador

Irvin Yalom, the famous psychiatrist,  does suggest that human bond is one of the limited things that can relieve us from the anxiety of death and the only real source of fulfilment in our mortal life. During his work with several patients with terminal cancer or even adults with severe death anxiety, he used the human bond in order to put under control the overwhelming stress on the prospect of death.


What he has not explored however, is the second most important bond. The bond between animals and humans. Dogs and horses and rarely cats are offering a lot to cancer patients, giving them the sense of unconditional love and caring. They also drive thinking away from ominous, unsettling thoughts. 
Of course, none of these are news but one cannot overstress enough their importance in the quality of life of patients. Patients tend to feel lonely and lost in their often nightmarish life events, but loved ones and spending time with animals soothes these feelings and gives meaning to life.

After my second surgery, during chemo, I got Melissa, a ginger labrador, that changed my life. She is constantly causing chaos because of her puppy energy but spending one day without her makes me lose my smile. Sometimes we can her Meli, from the greek word for honey because she is the sweetest one, sometimes we call her Melissaki, from the greek word for little bee, because she keeps buzzing for hours over our heads. In any case, she gets tons of love, my spoilt little one.