[ArchieAus]

So for the past 9 years ( even though I have been married to the most wonderful woman for 30 years ) I have been in a committed relationship with another male . Neither of us identify as gay ...although we have exchanged the odd kiss over the years ...and have had the occasional dry leg hump ...him more than me. It all began at a homeless dog shelter when our eyes met through a glass pane . The next day I found myself overwhelmed and had to go back to see him again . We both knew it was a bad idea ( or at least I did ) , but we started our relationship at that moment . That first decision cost me about 5k on an unrefundable Asian golf trip I had to cancel . I was told that my new partner had issues that would plague him all his life , and they were right , but I couldn't see beyond his pointy nose and big round brown eyes ... the floppy ears were also a turn on . So here we are ..9 years on . He's helped me so much on diversifying my investments by allowing me to stimulate the veterinary profession to the tune of approx another 20k in treatments and operations ( maybe more ? , I let him keep count of these things , I just hand the card over ) We roll from one medical and neurological crisis to the next . But in between we share walks together , and spend time just smiling at each other or rubbing noses . He's a happy soul . These days I can't even really leave him to go away as it sends him into a mental meltdown which manifests into physical illness after a night without me ( yes even the time I drove him 400 miles to the luxury pet motel in the city so we could get away for a few days ) , so these days holidays consist of the three of us ( my wife consents to my male partner ) holidaying in a cottage at the beach ( 400 miles the other way ) that lets dogs stay inside . So this week we are doing our thing . I've taken a week off as I had accumulated too many holidays for works liking ( you can only go to the same beach cottage so many times ) , my furry partner is wearing a $210 padded inflatable head cone ( guaranteed to be comfortable and still stop him from scratching his face due to allergy injuries ) which he seems to love as he uses it as a mobile sleeping pillow , he's doing well on his new allergy pills ( $5 a pill twice daily ) and we are beating that well worn track back to the vets tomorrow to begin his arthritis injection course ..oh and to get them to have a look at that new lump . I guess you'd wonder how my wife would put up with me and my male partner .. but the crazy thing is that she loves him the same as me . I think when he finally succumbs to the bad odds he was dealt by birth and bad humans I will have to conseal my heartache to some extent to support her in her grief ..and there's been many a time when I believed his number was up , just for him to rise back up , tail wagging , love in his eyes ...demanding a walk in the park .
It's funny ... I've seen and done things in my life which many people would never have the chance to do , but at the end of it when I'm thinking about why my life was worth living , what was the meaning to my life ? I think very high up on that list will be the opportunity I've had to show one of earths creatures that love and kindness does exist , even if their life didn't start out that way .
I hope he will be around for a few years yet , to continue to enrich my life and to continue to show me the beauty of life , but we've got this far with no guarantees . I'll owe my male friend a huge debt when he decides he's had enough . Yep he's just a dog , the best and truest friend I've ever had . I hope he thinks the same of me .

[Skeezyks]

Puppy love...!