For a woman who describes herself as ‘totally introverted and slightly awkward’, Marzi Wilson has quite the following. She’s the creator of Introvert Doodles, a series of comics about life through the lens of an introvert, with 200,000 Facebook fans, and a book that received rave reviews.
While many of Wilson’s comics are about the joy of alone time, they often show her cartoon self being flanked by smiling animals. “Pets make great friends for introverts!” she says. “They are quiet, less demanding than humans, and in tune with your moods.”
Her inspiration came in the form of a kitten she rescued and re-homed (after finding it stuck in a tree) and a mixed-breed dog Rugby, whom she adopted from an animal shelter 10 years ago. “I knew I wanted a shelter dog, because there are already so many dogs without homes,” says Wilson. “A pet can enrich your life in so many ways. They will comfort you on your worst days, and share the joy of your best days. Your new best friend is probably already waiting for you at a nearby shelter!”
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She found Rugby’s picture on a website featuring rescued animals, and when she realised he was in a different state, she drove four hours to meet him. “The shelter isn’t first-come, first-serve. You are interviewed and have to prove you are a good fit for the pet,” she says, adding that she brought a photograph of her fenced home and letters from her children to the shelter, including a scribble from her then two-year-old son, who had drawn his family and added a dog to the picture.
She recalls that Rugby, who died last year, was a loyal, sensitive soul. “He was gentle, and never barked at all… which made me sad, because I have a feeling he was punished for barking at the previous place he was rescued from. So since he wouldn’t ask to go out, I had to remember to let him out every couple of hours.” While she has many great memories of him, she picks this one as her favourite: “In his later years, it was harder for him to get around. But no matter what, when he heard my daughter’s school bus down the street, he would go wait by the steps for her to come home. They loved each other so very much.”
It’s probably just as well, for Wilson reveals that while they were anxious to be chosen as Rugby’s family, it was possibly her daughter’s letter to the shelter that did the trick. Asked what the then eight-year-old child had written to win over the adoption volunteers, she responds, “She wrote: ‘I have read many books on how to care for dogs. I know how to feed a dog and walk a dog and brush a dog. I know they need a bed to sleep in and toys to chew. You should never yell at or hit a dog, because they don’t understand. You should always love your dog and be his best friend. I would love him forever and ever’.”
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