Some animals have what seem like are magic superpowers. They comfort and love us during times when we need it most.
Emily Taphouse credits her bulldogs with helping their family to heal and work through grief after her husband Korey was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver.
“It’s like I could feel a patch be placed on my heart,” Taphouse told The Dodo. “I watched as my girls squealed and played and loved on her. She changed everything.”
Taphouse’s two daughters Hazel and June were only 4 and 2 when their father died.
“Telling her that her dad died, and also that she wasn’t able to see him, was almost worse than the accident itself,” Taphouse explained.
The family decided to move so that they would have a new start in a new home near Grand Rapids, Michigan.
A white and brown bulldog puppy named Fern. The girls seem to instantly fall in love with Fern.
The girls love to cuddle with their new puppy and Fern love spending time with the girls.
She would become visibly sad when her doggy playdates were over. That’s when Taphouse realized it was time to get another dog.
But finding a companion for Fern wasn’t exactly easy as it was finding Fern herself.
“It seemed that every dog we were finding in the shelters and adoption groups was either not good with small kids, or kitties, or was too old to keep up with our 1-year-old stinker,” Taphouse explained.
Finally, they ended up finding another bulldog that fit in just great.
“She figured I could help find [Juno] a home, since I’m always trying to help find homes for animals who need them. I took one look at her and said, ‘Yeah. ME!!!’ I just knew,” Taphouse said.
Source:
Emily Taphouse
Juno’s foster mom, Victoria, explained that Juno had been abused and neglected in her previous home.
She was a happy cuddly 74-pound dog who immediately laid down next to Hazel who is just 30-pounds when they first met.
“[It was] love at first sight,” Taphouse said.
That’s why the Taphouses made sure to let Juno know that she was safe and loved.
“She had previously been hit when she tried to get on the furniture,” Taphouse said. “I got her home, and we talked her into going on the couch. She looked like she had found a piece of heaven.”
They are rarely separated and are always watching TV together, listening to music, or cuddling.
“June cares for her like she’s a small puppy,” Taphouse said. “She asks her if she’s OK, if she can get her anything. She puts blankets on her.”
“She is the most gentle baby,” Taphouse explained. “She quite literally loves anybody and anything. My cats even snuggle up to her.”
Taphouse says the dogs have had a unmatchable effect on her family.
They help to fill the void left behind by Korey’s death.
“There was a time when I wasn’t sure I was going to survive this. I wasn’t sure I wanted to,” Taphouse said.
Source:
Emily Taphouse
“Therapy, medication, all of it just didn’t seem enough to get me through this. I can say with 100 percent honesty that the combination of these dogs and Hazel and June have done more for me than any medical professional has. They are light and healing in the sweetest packages.”
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