This year Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are all in synch. Folks the world over will be commemorating the anniversary of the impossible eight days of Maccabees oil, that guiding star over Bethlehem and the founding of the seven guiding principles of the African nations.
Children of all ages will spin dreidels, dive under flock-covered trees or feast on indigenous fruits and vegetables to mark the gifts of the season. Meanwhile, our animal companions will look on curiously.
What holiday is named for them, these creatures who save us from our most lonely and desperate selves? The ones who’ve remade us in an image we could not even conceive of before they came along?
It may be a far flung time when our bosses give us the afternoon off or banks shut their doors for the day to celebrate the gifts pets give us. Here are but a few people who might be inclined to create a pet holy day of their own:
Eric O’Grey’s doctor had told him to buy a funeral plot because he would not live past five years. Tipping the scales at 340 pounds and unable to fasten his seatbelt on an airplane, Eric consulted a nutritionist who told him to adopt a shelter dog. Eric went to the Humane Society of Silicon Valley and locked eyes with Peety, a sweet, middle-aged dog of considerable girth. Together, they ventured outdoors, shared long walks, shed some pounds and met new friends. Their bond had become indelible. Soon, Eric was running marathons, once an improbable dream. Peety — who’d been left to languish alone in his prior owner’s backyard — evolved into a healthy, vibrant playmate. Sadly, Peety developed a tumor on his spleen and has since passed. But the bond between the two is truly a tale in which the only thing lost was the weight of the past.
Having just graduated college, Julie Barton didn’t feel as though her whole life was ahead of her. After returning home to Ohio from Manhattan, Barton sank into a depression that family, friends and therapy could not help her overcome. Only the unconditional love of her adopted golden retriever puppy, Bunker, could pull Julie out of the hole into which she’d crawled. Bunker helped Julie build a daily routine. Thus began her healing process. Through graduate school, moves to other states, marriage and motherhood, Bunker remained faithfully at her side. Julie’s life with Bunker is documented in her memoir, Dog Medicine.
Esther, the “micro pig” who swelled to 600 pounds, sparked an anti-cruelty movement and converted her adoptive parents into vegans. Derek Walter and Steve Jenkins doted on their little bundle even when she was not so little anymore. Her humans took her for walks and snuggled with her in their living room with the family’s whole animal menagerie. It wasn’t long before Derek and Steve took their love for Ester out into the world to educate people about the suffering animals experience on factory farms. Together, the family founded Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary where rescued farm animals can live out their lives with dignity and freedom.
The floor is open to nominate names for a companion animal holiday.
Dognukkah? Christmouse? Catwaanzaa?
Call it what you will, every day sharing life with a companion animal is a holy day.