(CNN) "Superman" star Henry Cavill has revealed that not all heroes wear capes -- some just have fluffy paws.
The British actor, best known for portraying the DC Comics character in the DC Extended Universe, has credited his dog for saving his mental health.
Cavill appeared alongside his pooch, Kal, on British talk show "Lorraine" on Monday to promote season 2 of his Netflix show " The Witcher " -- which is set to premiere on December 17. The conversation soon turned to his canine companion and he told host Lorraine Kelly just how important Kal was to him.
The film star regularly shares pictures of his well-groomed American Akita with his 17.7 million Instagram followers.
"He really is (my best friend)," the 38-year-old told Kelly as he stroked Kal. "We go everywhere together. He's 8 now and he has saved my emotional, psychological bacon plenty of times."
theblacklabradork on December 7th, 2021 at 00:54 UTC »
I remember years ago, a young man came into my clinic with his mother and their dog was super sick. We suspected GDV (gastric dilation-volvulus aka "trapped bloat") which is life threatening. The dog was a 6 year old female irish setter (and quite the unusual breed in my area) and took some xrays to confirm the worst. GDV needs immediate surgical intervention, so we got together our supplies while staff stayed with the dog - and I went into the exam room to talk with the young man and his mom.
When I told them what was going on, the man (probably early 20s) threw himself onto the ground, wailing, rolling from side to side and started hurting himself against the ground. His mom dove down to stop him and hold him and I have to admit - I was in absolute shock. Up until that point, I have never worked with clients who had that level of emotional outburst upon letting them know their dog needed immediate surgery. I've experienced anger, sadness, anxiety, concern, financial troubles, moral troubles and everything in between but NEVER someone start to hurt themselves at the thought of their dog needing surgery.
Some time had passed after I left the room to check on the dog and get my OR ready. His mom waited for me outside the staff office and explained that this dog meant the absolute world to her son and that he suffered from severe anxiety since childhood and that the dog was the only thing that mattered to her son. They were absolutely inseparable and I was to do everything in my power to save this dog - no matter the cost, complications, time, etc.
The surgery went well, no hiccups with recovery, and the dog was discharged from our clinic after a few days. The young man visited with his dog for every available hour the dog stayed in our clinic. I remember how mad my staff was getting (because the dog needed various treatments while hospitalized) and of course having someone "in the way" made treatment harder for staff, but something clicked with me after seeing what happened in that exam room: a pet can absolutely be the difference between literal life and death for some people. I should know - although I suffer from depression and *being unalive* has not crossed my mind, I can wholeheartedly say that my dogs are the most stable routine I've ever had in my life. No matter how much I get stressed by them at times, how much worry I have about illness/disease, no matter how many times I curse walking them in the rain or snow, no matter the items ruined or places I cannot go because I have a reactive dog; it all doesn't matter. They are worth it, they help me live my life and they are huge motivators for me every day.
I can talk all about taking care of client's pets and how that's special to me, but having your own pet/pets is just something else. I often think about that young man and hope he's okay. It's been years since that incident, so I don't think their setter is around anymore, but I hope that helping that family's dog in turn helped that young man and that they had many more wonderful years together.
If you have a pet, enjoy them as much as you can - you never know when your last day together will be, so cherish them all. Cheers!
Dear-Crow on December 6th, 2021 at 21:51 UTC »
"He really is (my best friend)," the 38-year-old told Kelly as he stroked Kal. "We go everywhere together. He's 8 now and he has saved my emotional, psychological bacon plenty of times."
If anyone was wondering what he actually said.
DivHaydeez on December 6th, 2021 at 20:54 UTC »
After the pass of my brother my dog helped me a lot. Having that daily routine of walking three times a day with my dog has gotten me into not wanting to turtle up into my room because my dog will be by my side the whole time.