Everybody hurts, sometimes.
Relationships fritz and fizzle, bad moods steam and sizzle, and we all have moments where all we wanna do is to curl up under a blanket so it all goes away.
In tear-stained moments of blackness, when the weight of the world hangs heavy, there’s nothing as sweet as a furry four-footed friend noticing your mood and coming over for a snuggle.
As your dog curls into your lap or your cat stares straight in your eyes you just suddenly sniff back hot salty tears and let a small smile curl onto your face.
AWESOME!
Breaking! We just got nominated for a Webby Award!
The Book of Awesome hits stands in 2 days. Check out the trailer.
:3
I just got out of a six and a half year relationship very unexpectedly. On top of that, my family no longer lives in the state and my best friends are all at least an hour away.
Luckily, my two beautiful kitties are really sensitive ladies. They knew I was upset and have been so sweet and cuddly. It has been a huge comfort to have them around when no one else was there to hug me.
I ♥ my Penny and Polly cats!
My puppy is the best.
It’s like dogs have a sixth sense of when trouble is a-brewin’ on the homefront. They trot on over and give you some wordless words of wisdom that can do nothing but make you feel oh so good. No matter what, dogs are always there for you. They’re like a best friend. Only furrier. And they don’t talk. And they lick your face.
Actually my best friend does that sometimes…
I need new friends. Actually, no I don’t.
Haha – my best friend totally does the licking thing as well – kinda freaky most of the time O_o
Hahaha oh goodness … hands in the air for having been licked by a best friend …
*hand up*
You’re so right though. Dogs totally know.
*hand up*
I get her back though.
I LOVE this so very, very much.
I love my cat, she knows how to make me feel better…
Aw. :’3
:) This is cute and so true. I really miss having a pet that I can cuddle with. All I have are hermit crabs now and I’m not about to cuddle with them.
So … one time, my freshman year in the dorms, the fire alarm went off of at 3 a.m. and this girl across the hall, who had like 4 contraband hermit crabs, drunkenly grabbed them all and was cuddling them down the stairs. It was hilarious. But I can say, from a firsthand observation, that your instinct to not cuddle the crabs is a good move.
LOL…. that would have been really funny to see.
Boy, am I glad you specified that they are HERMIT crabs. Otherwise, TMI!!
We have 6 dogs, and coming home is always an experience. As I make my way slowly down the driveway, fairly confidant that these barking, wagging, excited creatures will stay away from the tires, I know that I will be showered with affection when I finally park and get out of the car. No matter how tough or long the day, the greeting always makes things better.
By far one of the awesomest things I’ve read on this site. Yesterday I wasn’t feeling well and my dog Bella came up to me and curled up next to me. It was the best! :)
I love it when my cat is sweet to me when I’m sad.
Our babies are great at this. THey are especially snuggly when we are sick.
This actually just happened to me the other night- my bulldog Manny always seems to know when I’m feeling down. He comes right over to me, puts his big squishy paw on my hand as if to say, “Hey, Mommy- you doing OK?” and then licks my face in a way that can only be described as sympathetic. You’re absolutely right- there is no other word for it than AWESOME!
… Love your blog, by the way. It’s one of the first things I read every morning and always puts a smile on my face.
My dog is PETRIFIED to come into my room, because when we first moved into the house, he came in and slipped on the floor and hurt himself. (I have laminate flooring.) But when my boyfriend broke up with me, and also the day before I moved out of my house to go to university, he came straight into my room, jumped up on my bed and snuggled me. :)
my doggie and kitty do that!!!! and it’s the BEST!!!
Dogs KNOW. They know when you’re not feeling right. They’re always there with a heaping dose of unconditional, non-judgmental lovin’.
My Grandmother has the sweetest yellow lab in the world. My Granddad passed away this Jan. and the dog has become her greatest comfort. Dogs are the best : )
Gah! I don’t know what I would do without our pets. Instead of a lot of antidepressants, I say the doctors need to prescribe an ample dose of puppy loving sometimes. :)
oh…and those two pictures…too stinking cute.
I know! Those pictures make me NEED a puppy and kitten so bad!
And I think that more enlightened doctors do advise patients to get a pet, and lots of long term care facilities participate in “pet therapy”. But there should definitely be MORE of this happening!
Awwww. I love it! Sometimes I think my animals are more perceptive than most people. I don’t know where’d I’d be without them!
I’m so glad you posted this one today. I won’t lie, I had the shittiest night ever and got on the site around 1AM hoping you’d posted a new one. I was hoping it was a sad one so I could relate. and I can definitely relate to this one. one of my cats doesn’t know, but the other one definitely does and as soon as I closed the computer, this fat guy was waiting to lay down beside his mama and purr right in her ear.
http://i40.tinypic.com/t8no1k.jpg henry bemis <3
AW….. he is too cute. What does that shirt say?
property of cupid haha. it was his valentine’s day outfit.
I’m getting a puppy soon! But its my mom’s turn to name the dog and shes naming it Samwise. :(
Argh!
LOL, does it look like a hobbit?
Just be grateful. If we get a dog, my daughter wants to name it “Chicken Mc”. (because one of our neighbours has a dog named “Nugget” and she thinks they could be friends).
I know this has nothing to do with animals…but since we are on the weird name subject…. my daughter wants to name the baby (when the time comes for me to have another)….. octopus.
I’m a massive LOTR nut so I don’t see a problem with the name Samwise. I was given a couple of guinea pigs by my best friend who was moving into a flat and couldn’t keep them, and they were Frodo and Samwise. I called him Sammy for short.
Lol our friends have a dog called Pickles, and when we didnt have a dog they were gonna breed her and we would have gotten one of the puppies. We were gonna call it Chutney :) but she couldnt get pregnant.
when my siamese cat cocoa sees/hears/smells me crying, she comes over and tries to make me stop by biting my eyebrows… hmmm.
That’s hilarioius, I’ve never had a cat bite my eyebrows before. My Tiggy (big orange male tabby) loves to snuggle up under the covers. And whenever I’m on my laptop, he has to be right there, trying to get onto the keyboard. Even though he’s been trained not to get on the keyboard of the desktop! I love it though, as I almost lost him last year when he was sick. I’m really thankful that he’s still here. Although I have 3 cats, he’s my favorite.
Even awesomer: When your pet knows you’re pregnant before you do! Our dog started acting very protective of me and cuddly one day in late 2002, and I later figured out that it was right when I got pregnant with our youngest son. I miss that puppy girl.
I just got my book in the mail today!!! Super exciting. I wish you could have put all 1000 things in it, but then I guess it would have been a huge book. But you included lots of my favourites :) and am enjoying!
Awesome about the Webby nom!
P.S. People: We should all vote. Neil deserves another Webby!
Yes, yes we must all vote!
LOL after reading all these cute kitteh and doggie stories, I couldn’t help but think “Nom, nom, nom” when you said “Webby nom”
I voted!!!
Awww such a cute post. I’ve had a rough start o the year, but my little baby kitty; simba, has been totally there for me. Amazing how she is able to heal me and make me laugh at my lowest points.
She’s my little furry angel!
Kavi xxx
The fact that you called your cat Simba is awesome. But cats are amazing when you’re feeling down… Have two cats in my house and both of them are so cuddly when you’re feeling down. Suddenly you get heaps of attention and it’s wonderful.
reminded me of my late cat, ruby. She was awesome n weird. She only loved her human companions, didn’t care much for her fellow felines.
I once fell flat on my face… scraped my knees and palms. There i was, resting in my room when ruby slipped in and started to lick my injured palms. It certainly was a pleasant surprise for me! She didn’t stop till she had finished covering both palms. She healed me with her care and love. I miss her.
Thanks for this opportunity to share my experience.
I feel like this was written for me. My 4 month old puppy can read me so well that he knew I was breaking down (the day this blog post was written) and that I needed a snuggle and a gentle lick on my nose. I realized that he is one of the most important things in my life. Something so simple, and so comforting.
This is #1 on my awesome list.
The last time I was ill, I laid down in the spare room for a nap, my Ripley-cat hopped up to see what was wrong and rubbed her head against my cheek in that “Hey, it’s ok, you’ll feel better soon” kind of way, then sidled up to me and turned her motor on full tilt.
When I woke up 4 hours later the two of us were a pile of tangled limbs and blankets, she was still still hugging my arm and using my hand as a pillow.
So, so awesome!
My Black Lab Rotti mix, Roxy, was amazing at sensing moods. She knew instantly when you needed a shoulder to cry on. After my grandpa passed, it was like she understood exactly what was going on and why we had to leave to visit family and such for a short while. Sadly, she went on home to keep my grandpa company a few months ago. Before she left, she did manage to pass on some of her wisdom to my Yorkie, Bailey. She may not be a big old 90 pounder to squeeze on, but she knows how to snuggle with you until everything is ok.
Years ago I had a cat called Cuddles. Well in fact, although she was my birthday present, she adopted my sister and basically ignored me for most of the time. One day in my early teens I was lying on my bed, bawling my eyes out about something (stupid hormones!) and Cuddles came to see if I was okay. I was so upset that I didn’t even notice she was there, till she slapped me across the face a couple of times. It was like she was so worried about me that she was trying to snap me out of it. I just sort of sobbed “Oh Cuddles,” and held her for a while. Normally she wasn’t a huggy cat but she seemed to understand that I needed it, and just snuggled in.
I love this one!
Pets, such true friends, and then they pee on your carpet, but you can’t get mad, because they always look at you so innocently…
When I was in mid-divorce, I came home from work one day, fell onto the couch with my coat still on, and bawled, flat on my back. One of my cats, who had never been a cuddler, made a beeline for me. She jumped onto my chest, shimmied into my neck, and started to knead and lick. She purred right through me and stayed on my chest until I quieted. It was a turbulent ride for her –> I was (forgive the cliché) racked with sobs for about 1/2 hour … but she stayed put, purring away … Starting that night, she came to bed with me every night, nestling by my head, or tucking herself under my arm if I was reading. She seemed suddenly to have a whole new awareness of me … she became a supremely cuddly cat … and she made her feelings known immediately about the man who is now my husband … She fell — and stayed — in rapturous love with him … so did I :-)
I just found your site via Post Secret. So far I like it. I regards to when pets know when to cheer you up, I have a 10 year old female tabby cat named Minnie, who was named such because she was so tiny when we picked her up from the farm where she was born. She is a loyal, sweet girl who is very independent. But she also is very loving. She follows my 16 year son around like a puppy and since she came to us she sleeps on his pillow next to his head as if to protect him. She tells us good morning every day, even if the rest of the day she ignores us. She is our little princess and adds so much love to our family! A true blessing.
My aunt had this tiny little dog that would refuse to go near anyone except her owner. A few years ago, I was staying with my aunt, and even after three weeks the dog would bolt to another room at the sight of me. If I went too near her, she would bark to high heaven until I went away. Unfortunately, towards the end of my stay, I was sexually assaulted. I came back to my aunt’s house, and went into her room. I lay down and attempted to shut myself out from the world by pulling the duvet over my head, but I heard a noise at the side of the bed and looked down – the dog had her two front paws up on the bed, looking at me. I pulled her up and she came under the duvet with me and rested her face by mine. When I sobbed, she licked my tears away. The dog undoubtedly helped me through that night, I definitely didn’t feel so alone.
Not sure what I would do with out my pup Kapono on days like today. He always makes my heart happy, even on the toughest days!
When I was in grade 12 and very depressed, I was sitting on the kitchen floor using a very sharp knife on my wrists. It was at that point that my dog, whom I had from the age of 5, came over and slowly put her head on my lap and looked up at me. she licked that spot on my wrist as if to lick away the hurt and I quit.
She saved my life.
Ava and Indra read both my sad and glad moods and react appropriately. Have no clue how…but they do! So very intuitive! Love my dog friends and couldn’t make it through some days without them.
My favorite is when I get a phone call that makes me angry- whether it’s my overly competitive sister or a salesmarketer- and my dog gives me a looks, sighs, and then comes over and sits on my feet. She always knows when I’m irritated. And she always gives me the same look- big eyes and a whole lotta cuteness.
One day, I took a beeline from bed to bathroom and was sick to my stomach.
My puppy, who doesn’t believe in “personal space”, wiggled his way in. I reached out a hand to keep him at a distance. He sat down, put his paw on my hand and stayed there until I was ready.
Still get teary thinking about it!
What would I do without my sweet boy? My dog always knows when I am sick or sad. He is my little shadow in the best of times and attached at my hip in worst of times. Recently, I was having some marital problems and was absolutely aching inside as I cried into my pillow. Just then, my sweet boy came trotting down the hall, jumped up on the bed, dropped his precious rawhide chewie on the pillow beside my face, licked my nose, and layed down beside me. We should all be so lucky to experience this special kind of puppy love.
Neil, this is the best “awesome thing”! Dogs are awesome!! =o) My Chummy is awesome!!
This blog is, obviously, awesome. It’s a shame your book hasn’t been published here in Brazil. I’d love to buy some copies for my friends. They’d surely find it awesome. :D Best, Fernanda (Florianopolis, Brazil).
Aww… I’m a sucker for a kitty face.
It’s also awesome when you hurt yourself or are sick. My brother once fell off his scooter in the back yard and Jack came over to him. And the other i was off school for 4 days sick in bed and he came to my bed and licked my fingers that were sticking out from under the covers :)
I was just browsing through the 1000 awesome things on your web site when i remembered how low i felt yesterday and how my 50lbs bad ass looking pitbull came to me and put her heavy head on my lap looking at me like saying: there there, everything is gonna be alright. And i thought, THAT is truly awesome … and there, #528, when your pet notices you’re in a bad mood and comes to see you … AWESOME
My dog is the best. She is always around when i need her…..that could be because of how insecure she is and how much she hates to be alone but whenever i’ve had a bad day and needed a shoulder to cry on, she’s been there.
Such a sweet “awesome thing.” One time I was on the phone crying and was so distraught I couldn’t pay much attention to anything but the phone call. But I noticed I kept trying to “shoo” my cat during the conversation and after a few minutes I realized he was head-butting me, over and over. It was so sweet, he hadn’t done that before and I knew he was trying so hard to make me feel better!
Definitely another wonderful instincts dogs and animals have. I was out for two weeks to work on my school thesis and all my frustrations and stress are all gone just when I came home and our dog greet me with big smiles and wags and did play with me for hours..
About a year ago, my husband voluntarily admitted himself to a behavioral health unit at our local hospital. I tried calling him, but he was asleep at a much earlier time than usual, and they wouldn’t tell me how he was even doing because we apparently didn’t sign a release form. We’re the kind of couple that text each other all day long, and never spend time apart.
I hung up the phone and LOST it. Crying hysterically, gasping for breaths of air, the whole shebang. Within 30 seconds both my dogs and both my cats were on me giving me the support and love I neeeded. AWESOME.
Both my dog, Nikko and cat, Sasha do this all the time. They have huge hearts!