NJM Day 2 Prompt: How have your animals made life better? in NoJoMo 2016

I've always been surrounded by animals of some kind. Growing up, we had a few cats, and a dog, named Bo.

Bo was part beagle, part German Sheppard. We called him a German Beagle. He was super protective of me, always at my side. If I even muttered the phrase "help me" his hackles would go up, and would start growling.

He was in my life from age three until I was about 17. I remember my dad, who would say he hated that "damn dog" crying so hard when we had to have him put to sleep.

When I moved out, my parents wanted to give me an "apartment warming" gift. I already had everything I needed, so they got me a cat.

When my dad went to the shelter to pick him out, he knew I wanted an adult cat, because they usually don't make it out of the shelter. His name was Bingo, a big black and white guy. He had a bit of an attitude problem due to being abused, but he grew to love me.

When I first got him, and brought him to the vet, I was surprised to be told that he was only about 6 months old. He already weighed 13 pounds! When he finally stopped growing, he was three foot long, and weighed in at 19 pounds.

He had a short life. He developed a clot that caused him to become paralyzed. I couldn't let him suffer.

I have much more to write about, concerning my animals, but must end this now. I will continue with this prompt tomorrow.