Two of my friends have had pets die this week. First a cat, then a goose.

Such a shock because ticks have dog owners everywhere checking fur but it was feline and feathered friends who had these families in tears.

George the cat was a much loved Seal-Point Tonkinese who spent her days lying in the sun and being carried around in the arms of 4 year old Mila. Sleek and stretchy, George looked elastic when Mila draped her over her little shoulder. So chilled. Adored.

George was sleeping, they thought, but it turned out she was dying. A tick had burrowed down and quickly drained her of life and movement. A horror realisation for three little siblings. George was only three years old and she was like a family member. You can add to the pile of emotions distress and guilt for my friend who hadn’t checked on her earlier. By the time they picked George up, her velvety legs didn’t work.

An emergency dash to the vet, several thousand dollars and a ventilator couldn’t save her.

My poor friends. The kids had the next day off school so they could grieve their little grey mate.

Days later, my friend’s goose died. She lived in bird paradise on acreage with three kids and a few friendly chooks. They called her Lucy. Her perfect orange beak and long white neck were too temping for a bloodthirsty tick.

The parasite was bulging when 9 year old Kenzie found Lucy limp and lifeless. Horror before the school bell had even rung. Shock, a tearful family photo was hastily snapped because my poor friend wasn’t sure what else to do followed a weekend burial in the backyard. Dad Daniel is off to buy some guinea fowls. Apparently they snack on ticks. Nature’s pest control.

For both families it was a genuine experience of loss. They’ll remember the trauma and it’ll become part of their family folklore. A tough lesson for the little ones and the parents. It reminded me of the wisdom that pets can bring in life and death.

When I was a kid, we had a blue heeler/bull terrier cross called Zoe. She was sturdy, strong with a mostly white coat, flecked with blue. She had a brown patch over one eye that spread up across her ear that wouldn’t quite prick. She was smart. That’s what I thought as a kid because despite her crinkled ear she seemed to hear and smell everything.

She had a powerful bite too. I used to play catch with Zoe and yank the ball out of her mouth. That was the game – the big struggle. I don’t think I was very smart playing that game now that I think about her jaw strength.

I do remember once clasping my little hand around a tennis ball Zoe had firmly wedged in her mouth. Her jaws slowly closed squashing the green furry flesh and pinching my skin in the webbed bit between my thumb and forefinger. I got a blood blister immediately. She did drop the ball eventually.

What’s the life lesson in that? Sometimes you have to let go of things, otherwise you might get hurt.

My family hasn’t got a pet right now, but I hope we will again someday.

In the meantime, I love to see my friends pets and stranger’s animals too.

There’s a dog up the road who often looks a bit lonely staring out of his back fence. Black vertical bars that make him look like he’s in dog jail. He’s rusty golden coloured and has a face so expressive he could win an Academy Award. I call him Oscar.

One day I watched a lady approach him who I assumed was his owner. She spoke at length to this pup with great affection. He responded with full body tail wags and happy snorts. What a good boy.

I wondered why the owner didn’t open the gate to pat him until after about 10 minutes, she bid Oscar farewell and kept walking. He wasn’t her dog. He was just her little furry mate on her walk home.

Imagine giving a stranger such joy. We still have so much to learn from generous dogs, flexible cats and joy-giving geese.

Check your pets please!