Anya & The Six
For the past three weeks, it’s been me, two German Shepherds, and four rescued South African cats—five boys and Hyna, the only other girl in the house.
They welcomed me into their pack and showed no budging of their routines - luckily we all speak Afrikaans (No, really, they don’t respond to any English).
Awake from 4 AM, running under the moonlight, and up again for sunrise. It turns out all my history of HIIT wasn’t in vain, because keeping pace with shepherds in full sprint is not for the weak.
We all spent a full moon together, danced on the deck under the hot February sun, and I learned that I make a mean tuna protein mix for dinner.
By now, I can tell who’s finishing their morning bone first just by the crack of it.
I’ve followed the slow, deliberate rhythm of the cats—lithe yawns, slow stretches and hissing with good boundaries. I’ve been reminded by Gianni’s puppyhood that play is just as important as discipline. Hyna’s love of the pool had me floating around all day (I think she’s part dolphin) and in between it all, I spent my days writing, reading and looking up more.
There’s something about being a new environment for me, in a home that is not mine, a temporary space I am occupying that allows my mind to delve deeper, and shift perspective in things I hadn’t prior. The view out the window is different as I stand in the kitchen and look out, or when I wake up and check the sky through the palms in the bedroom. The walk ‘home’ is different and I see the way the constellations look down on me from all the way up there.
These animals have done more for me than I have for them. And spontaneous opportunities like this always remind me I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. I’ve thought to myself a dozen different times, “What have I been doing all this time without you lot in my life?”
I’ve thought of all the dogs I’ve loved in my life, rescued, lost. I’ve thought of Kendi, and I’ve spoken to Silas, into the wind, into the rain, still wondering where he is.
When I’ve been sad, I’ve been met with soft paws resting in my lap, a wet nose in my neck, or a rough tongue licking away salty tears.
The universe is always nudging me into self preservation and what better way to learn, to be held and comforted and reassured, than surrounded by the more civilised species ;)
Don’t ever ask me if I’m a cat or a dog person, if it has claws or canines — I’m all in.