Goodbye to a Friend

Today our family said 'goodbye' to a friend . . . Homer, our bearded dragon.

Here's a layout from our family scrapbook.
The three pictures on the left are of Homer. In the top one, I was preparing her a salad and she leapt into the bowl. So much for ME eating anymore of it. She middle pic shows her lounging by the pool, and swimming in my tub in the bottom one. On the right are some of her babies.

Andrew was the official owner and caretaker of Homer. He earned the money to adopt her, when she was only a few weeks old, and about 4 inches long.

Her strange, masculine name has an interesting story. Andrew topped off his earnings with money promised by Granddaddy if he could hit a home run in baseball . . . Get it? Homer ---- Home Run. Since determining whether dragons are boys or girls is very difficult, almost impossible when they are young, Homer it was. And Homer she remained, even after we realized she was a she.

We watched her grow to adulthood, about 20 inches in length. Beardies come in a variety of colors, some bred especially for their vibrancy. But Homer was like our family -- just your average dragon. We learned to keep life insects and how to make good salads for her to eat. She enjoyed sitting on our shoulder and hanging out by the pool in the sunshine.

We survived the first winter that she brumated. Brumation is similar to hibernation. Beardies sleep much longer during the cold days of winter. They eat very little, and if you aren't prepared for it, you can think they are dying.

She almost did die last winter when she prolapsed. We rushed her to Birmingham where a great veterinary clinic for exotic animals was able to help her. We hand fed her for weeks, nursing her back to health.

I must confess that I didn't want a lizard . . . a reptile . . . in my house. Andrew really had to convince me, but I got very attached to her. She enjoyed being held, and wanted to be near "the action" in our house. She liked being stroked under her chin, had an affinity for watermelon, turnip greens, and the occasional wax worm. She loved taking a warm bath in my garden tub, and watching her swim was hilarious! I learned that an animal need neither have fur, nor wag or purr, to express their affection. Nor did she need either of those to gain mine.

Seven years ago this spring, this strange, unusual creature joined our family. Along the way, she joined also our hearts. Somewhere in the night, last evening, she left us, peacefully and of natural causes, we believe. Like so many of these precious pets that grace our lives, they teach us about love and loss.