I am a fan of “Alt Nation” on Sirius XM radio and one of my favorites of last year was Marshmello ft Bastille – Happier. I love the song and sang the lyrics (off-key and with many made-up words) but never really thought about them much.
My middle child loves music (he’s 4, so I’m not under any illusion that he will be the next Ed Sheeran, especially since neither of his parents have a musical bone in their bodies), occasionally we watch a music video on YouTube. Tonight we finished watching one of his favorites: Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” and the next song up happened to be “Happier”.
So we watched it and it was surprisingly moving and relevant to me this time of year especially. In short, it is about a little girl and her loving Dad who buys her a beautiful Golden Retriever puppy as a birthday present. As they grow up they become the best of friends. Skip forward a few years, she and dad have to make the difficult decision to help her best friend cross the rainbow bridge.
Fast forward again, she has become a mom and this time it’s her little girl receiving a beautiful Golden pup on her birthday from Granddad. Although it sounds sad, and it was, the video is done very well and it reminded me why we love our pets and why I love being able to have a positive impact on animals throughout their lives.
This is a stressful time of year for everyone. But do spare a thought for those in the veterinary field, this is the “season” that taxes us the most, emotionally. For many different reasons we, unfortunately, find ourselves performing end of life care for many more patients than at any other time of year.
On a truly happier note, we have lots to be thankful for this year. We have helped more patients than ever before and have added 2 staff new staff to our growing LVH family and 1 of our staff added a baby boy to theirs!
It’s hard to believe its almost another year in the books, an entire decade departed! I always wanted to experience life in the 20’s, and my wish will soon come true!
The LVH team would like to thank all of our wonderful clients who make what we do on a daily basis so rewarding and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And a special thought to all who have lost a companion this year. It’s amazing how music can evoke memories and nostalgia like no other.
On a side note, the lyrics of the song “Happier” are actually about an impending breakup and the difficult decision to part ways for the greater good… So a special thought too for anyone who has been through a breakup this year!
Dr. Webster
“I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.” ― Tom Waits
