他也不害怕护士。当护士给母亲喂饭，或母亲去洗手间时，他很安静，也不捣乱。不管是给母亲换床还是洗澡出现混乱时，他都只是等着回到自己的岗位。除了吃食和大小便，奥托决不离开母亲的房间。
日子一天天过去了，母亲的病情开始有些好转。但别人告诉我：“这很正常，这种好转一般是死亡前的回光返照。”
我很伤心，但奥托没有轻易地放弃母亲。借着母亲病情好转的机会，他从床尾挪到了母亲的身边。母亲用消瘦的手指抚摸着他柔软的皮毛。他斜靠在母亲的身上，似乎要抓住她的求生欲望。尽管母亲很虚弱，但仍然爱抚着他，不让我抱走。
几个星期过去了，母亲仍在和病魔作斗争。有一次，当护士们完成一天的工作离开时，我听到母亲的房间里有声音。我发现她的床头升了起来。奥托依偎在她的臂弯里，敬慕地听她读报纸。奥托用爪子抚摸着母亲的脸，这一幕令我永生难忘。
最终，母亲可以借助助行器在屋子里来回走动了，她的身后跟着奥托，还拖着氧气管。她停下休息，奥托也在那里休息。不管她走到哪里，奥托都寸步不离。我似乎忘记了她也是一位母亲，但奥托明白。这些日子以来他一直是母亲的狗宝宝，并让她有了生活的目标。
转眼间，三年过去了，医用病床和氧气装置都已经撤了，所有的药物都停了，护士也离开了。但母亲和奥托还在，重病期间他们建立起来的那份情感依然存在。
不久前，我们去看了肿瘤医生，他非常满意地说：“卢，简直难以置信，你的癌细胞一点儿也找不到了，而且你的心脏也变得强壮了。当年你的女儿带你来看病时，我还认为你已经走到生命的尽头了。”随便医生怎么去想，母亲认为这全是奥托的功劳。
非常幸运的是，母亲最终摆脱了死亡的阴影，奥托也仍然继续陪伴着母亲。他给予母亲的爱，是比医生的处方更有效的灵丹妙药。
宠物情缘
Ozzie
佚名 / Anonymous
I have been a dog person all of my life. For as far back as I can remember as a family we always had dogs. So, overtime I have developed a great deal of respect and admiration for our animal community. Some of the dogs that have touched my life have either been given to me or have come to me on their own. For the ones that come to me out of no where I find to be a big surprise and consider these very special indeed. As I have learned some very valuable lessons from them.
Ozzie came into my life at a time when I was uncertain about my future. I was in my late 20' s and going through a period where I didn' t want to accept any responsibility for any of my actions. My heart was heavy with negativity and distrust.
Then through a series of events I was introduced to two blind boys who had two beautiful guide dogs and, you guessed it Ozzie!
They told me his name was Ozzie and he was about 2 years old. He had been left behind by the previous tenant. They had tried their best to care for him but felt the environment for Ozzie was not very comfortable. Over time they had become attached but really wanted to see him go to a good home.
This was the last thing I wanted as I was not ready to care for a pet. To appease the boys I went into the room where they kept him. Calling for him I didn' t get any type of response. So, I started to talk to him and asked, "Ozzie, do you want to come home with me?" Out from under the bed came this beautiful black dog with the biggest eyes I had ever seen!
He came right to me and barked. I understood that to mean,"What are we waiting for? Let' s go!" He had totally won me over and had wrapped his paw around my heart. It was the beginning of a very long partnership!We settled in and I must say to this day when I think back on our time together I am amazed at how much I learned about myself.
Unconditional love was at this top of the list. No matter what kind of mood I was in, Ozzie had a way of being able to read me like a book!
This was something I marveled at.
He had his way of conveying to me that he understood and would offer comfort that would heal my spirits immediately!
If I was sad he would stay next to me and look into my eyes and in a gesture that brings tears to my eyes even today. He would reach out and gently touch my face with his paw. As you can well imagine things would then be okay with the world no matter what it was that was bothering me.
We experienced our first earthquake together. What a memory that was! I grabbed Ozzie and stood inside of the door frame as we were being jostled around, I told him it was Mother Nature hiccupping and as scared as he was he seemed to know I was trying to comfort him.
After the ground stopped shaking I began to put some supplies in a duffel bag to take to my car. Ozzie seemed to watch me and what I was doing. As I was preparing to leave he got in the bag and just barked and barked. I took that to mean"Hey, you are not leaving me behind!"
It' s so very special when you have these moments as it is a sure sign of a very special bond that starts to grow to include body language and when it happens with a dog it is never forgotten.
I always felt that Ozzie had an uncanny ability to know what certain words meant. Mornings I would stir and call out "Breakfast". Ozzie would leap off the bed and run to the kitchen. I would pretend to go back to sleep. We would play this game about two times when finally for the third time I would say "Breakfast", Ozzie would start to leap pause and turn to me with a look that said "Oh No!I am wise to that!"
Ozzie was very healthy all his life and not a fussy eater. If there was a type of food that I would serve him that he didn' t like I would ask him to "please eat it and I would not buy it again." I was very surprised when he would eat it! I would give him a bath which was something he enjoyed.
When Ozzie reached the age of 15 that is seven times a human' s age so he indeed was a senior! He developed a condition known as Citistus. This is fatal for a male dog if not treated as they are not able to urinate. So he would have "attacks" and I would have to rush him to the vet. It went this way for a few months until the vet was able to give me medicine that stopped the problem. I had to be sure he took the medicine and watch him very carefully. At this age the vet said to expect anything and everything but he recovered nicely.
Where we lived Ozzie was the only dog. In fact he was the only pet. So, he became the "mascot" and was popular with all the neighbors. He would visit and keep company with some of the tenants and they were always delighted and would give him treats his favorite being any kind of meat.
About a year after his bout with the citistus Ozzie' s sight and hearing began to go, along with losing control of his bowels. I would have to clean up after him and feed him with an eye dropper. I knew he was going and I wanted him to be in familiar surroundings.
It had been such a long road we had traveled! I felt so honored and privileged to have been chosen to have Ozzie become part of my life.
