Felix & Daisy

A street boy in Thailand with his dog, nor Felix & Daisy, but the emotion is exactly the same.

This story is true, whilst all the names and characters have been altered.  

Several years ago, a dear friend of mine, who is a head teacher, was contacted by one of her colleagues.  He asked her to go to his home immediately.   She knew by the tone of his voice that it was serious.

Felix was in a mess. 

He was a geography teacher, he was gay, and he had developed habit of injecting crystal meth. 

He’d also got himself into debt.

My friend, who is a deeply compassionate person, recognised her colleague’s distress. The first thing she did was pay off his debts, and then attempted to address the issue of his drug addiction.

This was not straightforward.

In the meantime, a neighbour had acquired a black Labrador puppy as a companion to their existing Labrador, but things were not going well. The two dogs had not bonded, and the puppy’s behaviour was becoming increasingly difficult.  

The relationship was breaking down.

Felix got himself a new job as a museum curator, it was less complicated for him. His addiction issues were being addressed and he went into rehab.

It then occurred to my friend that what Felix really needed was a relationship, or something to care for.

She put two and two together.

Daisy the wayward Labrador puppy and Felix the fragile soul then spent a weekend together as an experiment.  As Felix says, “It was love at first sight.”

I’m sure you can imagine, it was not entirely straightforward, but it gave Felix back the purpose and meaning in his life that he so craved. And he took on the needs of Daisy the misunderstood Labrador, who required lots of time and careful training.

Five years later the relationship is going well.

Daisy is now the most gentle and good-natured Labrador.  As for Felix, having a dog to care for, and with the love he receives in return, has saved him.  He’s now a much more content soul. 

AJK