A DAUGHTER'S LOVE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31
HOLDING ON
Victoria stands at the edge where she can barely
see her former productive and self-sustaining
life. Sometimes, admittedly, she wants to give up.
But she cannot.
“If not for those two..." Victoria tearfully says,
pointing to her daughter sitting cross-legged on
a colorful quilt covering a living room futon and
caressing granddaughter Emma’s back.
Michelle does not blink; her large dark eyes mist
over.
Victoria has to accept help for the first time in
her life, Michelle says. And she’ll live alone for
the first time ever, sans her four-legged compan-
ions. Where they’ll all rest their heads at night is
the question.
Victoria decided early on in childhood that trust-
ing adults could be risky and her beloved dogs
were a safer bet. And despite decades passing,
Victoria’s childhood assumptions are apparently
as strong as ever. Her only companionship, she
says, are Sugar Bear and Zoe.
Sadly, her little dogs are actually adding to Vic-
toria’s problems.
Some people aren’t willing to help her because
of the dogs. They think the dogs should be un-
loaded, Victoria says. And the thought of that
seems to trump all of the other challenges this
mother faces.
“You’d have to understand where I come from,”
she says. “Dogs have always been there for me
when I had nobody.”
Giving them up isn’t a consideration. Period.
“I’m not that kind of person,” Victoria says. “I
made a commitment to them!”
More tears.
But while the dogs may be standing between help
and no assistance at all, Victoria reveals that their
lives just may have another role that, at the door-
step of homelessness and the indignity that can
bring to a person, may have immeasurable value:
purpose.
“They are the only reason — some days — to get
out of bed.”
To contact Michelle and Victoria: onephoenixfire@yahoo.com
July 2012
JustOut.com
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