When I moved to Toronto 2 years ago, I was working hard every day to build my new life here but after a while the hectic pace and constant pressure stated to take a toll on my emotional state, so as a result I felt sad and depressed.
Working hard was great at some points, but after a while I felt so lonely that you couldn’t imagine. I found my life meaningless and empty, and I stated to ask myself, why am I doing this?
I needed some fun to feel better. One day I got a dachshund puppy from my mother in Owen Sound as my birthday gift. I think she felt my loneliness when I was talking to her on the phone every week. I fell in love with the puppy immediately and soon after my emotional fog started to lift a bit. I believe that was the best thing that happened to me. Now I had a reason to live! She was so sweet when she was eating and most of the time she was playing. In a nutshell, she had lots of energy that I couldn’t believe! She was making me laugh (it had been a while that I didn’t laugh since I was alone!) when she was playing and I was talking to her like she can understand me. I was talking about my work, my goals, my life and everything! The most incredible thing I discovered about her was that she didn’t get bored! Every day was a new day to “enjoy “ life together, and she didn’t mind to do the same thing every day. She was always happy and full of energy. We were eating together. We were going out together and at night she was sleeping in my bed like an innocent baby. She sincerely loved me and needed me, which made me more committed to make life easier for her. Every day I was looking forward to get back home feed her and take her out. She made a difference in my life. Actually she was the one who found a husband for me! One day she ran away at the park and I was running after her, she ran towards a man who also had a dog with him. That man introduced himself to me as Norm and he would become my future husband. While the two doggies were playing, Norm started asking me about her and how old she is. We talked for a while about dogs. The next day I saw my new boyfriend again and we started to talk and walk the dogs together which let us get to know each other some more. One day he invited me to go out for dinner with him and I accepted! We talked about too many things and we found out that we have a lot in common. We both loved dogs, classic music and enjoy wine and homemade food and it didn’t take more than six months for us to get married. My husband, Norm, decided to surprise me for our 1 year anniversary with a beautiful large photo on canvas as a gift for me. I could believe how beautiful the photo of Jackie looked transformed into a photo on canvas. It brought tears to my eyes when I unwrapped my canvas gift. I had never thought that one of Jackie’s photos could be turned into such a great quality canvas photo that would be a celebration of my love for my loving dog, Jackie. We decided to hand our new photo keepsake in our newly painted living room.
Jackie was diagnosed with cancer about six months after our first anniversary and we were devastated.
The news came as a tremendous shock to me and Norm. We vowed to do everything we could do for our Jackie but after a couple of months, Jackie’s health really deteriorated to a point that we had to stop her ordeal. We couldn’t see her suffering anymore. It wasn’t easy for us, but I knew that it would be the best for her since her suffering was becoming unbearable for her and our family. During all 5 years that I was living with Jackie, she made my life meaningful. She was looking at me always with kindness and appreciation that I can never forget her. I love dogs, but Jackie is always in my heart, because of her special character and I can tell that she was the one that made my black and white life worth living again. Sadly Jackie is gone but the photo canvas of her on our living room wall is a testimony of how she changed my life and I will remember as long as I live.
This canvas always reminds me of her and makes me think that we really haven’t lost her and because she is still living with us. My photo on canvas is a reminder of my love for her and how important Jackie’s memory is to our family.

Marta Simas,
Mississauga, On