“Her name is Neytiri. It’s the main female character from the movie, ‘Avatar.’ I used to have a male named Jake, which was the main male character.
“About a year ago, she was playing with my friend’s bigger dog when they nipped each other. It was just an accident, but she lost her eye. When it happened, Neytiri jumped up on my bed and just looked at me like she was sad. I knew it hurt, so I took her to the vet. They said it pierced the retina and they wouldn’t be able to save the eye, so we scheduled the surgery.
“At times now, she creeps up on the edges of things because she knows it’s not quite the same as it used to be. But she’s bounced back. She still loves to come out here to play and chase the squirrels. She doesn’t see them as well as she used to, but she manages pretty well.
“I’ve been divorced for about three years. I don’t know what I’d do without her. We live in a trailer at a little RV park, and she sleeps in the bed with me. Comes under the covers on my right side every night. She’s such a great companion.”