I had never heard sounds like I did that day. I had never felt as though an entire building disappeared before my eyes. I had never watched as generations of pine trees fell like soldiers defeated in battle, booming as each hit the water-saturated ground.
While thunderstorms are not uncommon in our state, there’s something about witnessing their destruction from a lakeside picture window that can be very unsettling, and the way storm sound travels over water is disconcerting.
Several years ago, I was at our family cabin Up North with my father, daughter and our aging dog, Charles Nelson Reilly. That storm’s rain and wind hit our side of the lake with a fervor not witnessed by our family in nearly 50 years of ownership. Gone were many towering Norway, red and white pines that hosted our hammocks, shaded our lawn chairs and whispered to us through their gentle breezes. While our cabin survived, our garage across the road went down like an accordion—flattened right on top of itself.
As some of you know, the effects of heavy storm damage lingers long after the weather system has calmed or moved on. Filing insurance claims, rebuilding, replanting and repurchasing lost items can go on for well over a year. For us, Charles was left with some scars of his own. The sounds of the storm left him quaking in his little crooked paws, and he was never quite the same. Every subsequent loud noise, be it fireworks, trains changing tracks or storms, gave our beloved pet reason to seek the nearest hiding spot and heavily pant and whimper until the sound abated. We tried everything, or so we thought, to help him.
Sadly, Charles has passed away, but we are always aware of ensuring Pippa Marie Kravitz (our current dog) doesn’t suffer the same fate. Thankfully an article offers starting points for animal owners to consider when spring storms and summer celebrations become a bit too much for their animals. (For those of who have experienced the loss of a pet, visit our Noteworthy article to learn more about grieving for a pet.)
Regardless of the circumstances, taking thoughtful care of our animals should be a given. “I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs,” notes James Herriot, British veterinary surgeon and author.
Until next month,
—Renée Stewart-Hester
