Support Animals

A sloth. Yes, a sloth is Pettigrew’s support animal. Surprisingly it took me a long time to realize this. First there was the recognition that he was not shredding, but cuddling with his toy sloth. Then I noticed that when he is feeling strong emotion, he tracks down his sloth and tosses him around in the air—a safe way to give vent to those emotions.

But really, I should’ve figured it out sooner. After all, I have a stuffed lion that came into my life care of my aunt when I was a little girl, and still lives, usually, on the shelf in the back of the closet. When things are really tough, it’s time to dig out the lion (known to his friends as Lyie).

So, if I have a lion as a support animal, why can’t Pettigrew have a sloth?

Pettigrew can sometimes be a help see When I’m Feeling Blue Pettigrew Knows What to Do. Other times, he’s just clueless.

This week I had surgery on my eye. Pettigrew could care less. I turned to him for support, sitting with him on his sofa. He barely tapped his tail in greeting. Made no effort to snuggle closer, and merely gave me a baleful look out of the one eye he deigned to open. It was demoralizing. Not at all the TLC in which I was in need.

Lyie, well, Lyie never lets me down. He is a stalwart of support. Useful when I was younger to scare away intruders (in the dark he looks an awful lot like a real lion and would fool anyone who ventured into my room). In his old age his tail is unraveling, his mane is thinning, and he chooses a quieter lifestyle. Less roar and more purr.

But, with my eye hurting, my vision blurry, purr was just what I needed.

Luckily my husband understands the unique bond Lyie and I share and gallantly volunteered to brave the dark depths of The Back of The Closet. Unfortunately, he emerged without my lion.

Immediately I remembered the bag on the closet floor, which I had recently brought to the donation center. Could Lyie have fallen in? Did I cast him off like a pair of worn out jeans? With these cataclysmic visions before my eyes, my husband prudently made a second attempt at The Back of the Closet.

Turns out, the first time he not only didn’t find the lion, he didn’t find the shelf! His perseverance paid off. Lyie was located snoozing on the shelf and I was reunited with the One Being who is always there for me.

I gave Pettigrew another try later in the week, but this time, Lyie came too. Pettigrew brought his sloth.