By Benji’s mom Michelle Golding
Background
I was due to leave my home in Australia to visit my family, including my dying father, in the UK at the end of March 2020. But thanks to the pandemic, my flights were cancelled! My father passed away three weeks later and I could only watch his levaya (funeral) on the internet. I sat shiva by myself with no visitors in Australia. I was alone, depressed and not taking care of myself. The COVID-19 pandemic was very frightening and I was scared to leave home. One day, Benji’s photo popped up on my Facebook feed from a rescue shelter. He was such a handsome boy and I had a feeling that this was meant to be so I called the shelter and asked to see Benji as soon as possible.
The next day Benji came home to live with me! He was an 11-year-old Jack Russell mix, with the energy of a puppy. The shelter knew nothing of his history except his age. It was not easy to re-home him as most people want younger dogs. I liked the idea of a senior dog, so his age didn’t scare me. The shelter gave me lots of tips and advice. I bought Benji toys and bedding and popped him in my car on the back seat (with seat belt safety strap). He was not scared of me, or my driving, and we stopped a couple of times on the way home to “water the trees.” I set up his bed next to mine with a soft blanket and toys and showed him around my tiny apartment. Then we walked around the building complex so he could send and receive “pee mail” (i.e., sniff out the other canine inhabitants and mark his territory).
Who says it takes three months for a dog to settle in? Benji felt right at home and we fell in love with each other straight away. I didn’t change his name as I thought Benji suited him. I hadn’t had a dog or any pet since I was a school kid and although I have children and grandchildren (in the UK), I have only been responsible for myself for the past 15 years since leaving the UK. Benji is affectionate and intelligent. He knows when I’m feeling down and snuggles up with me for tummy rubs. We play with his toys and he enjoys his daily grooming, brushing and teeth cleaning. He also loves his bath at the doggy groomer pamper session, and monthly canine massage at our home.
Benji gives me a reason to get up in the morning and to exercise regularly. My mental health has dramatically improved since Benji came into my life, and we have “re-joined society.” We even moved out of the apartment to live in a small house with a garden. Benji is a happy, content fur baby and he has changed my life completely for the better. We rescued each other!
The Bark Mitzvah
As Benji approached his 13th birthday in 2022, we were still in lockdown in Melbourne, Australia. (Melbourne had one of the harshest and longest lockdowns in the world!) Life was very hard and there was nothing much to do apart from daily walks/short local drives/visits to the pet store (one of the few stores allowed to be open) and spending far too much time on the internet! I created an Instagram page for Benji (@Benji.Booboole) and enjoyed sharing pictures of his life with my family and friends in Australia and overseas. Around this time, I also discovered Mazel Pups, an awesome Facebook group/Instagram page for Jewish dogs. They didn’t seem to mind that I was in Australia, even though most of the members were in the USA. We all shared the same passion for our Jewish dogs. I loved looking at pictures of the members’ dogs dressed up – North America seem more geared up to doggy outfits in Jewish themes whereas here in Australia we really don’t have anything ready-made. If you want to dress your dog here, you either import, engage someone on Etsy or make it yourself!
My late mother z”l (zichrona l’vracha – “may her memory be a blessing”) was a seamstress but I was a very lazy girl who let mum do all my sewing. However, I am creative with great ideas – just often poor execution! With so much time on my hands, I decided that I would make Benji a kippah for his upcoming 13th Bark Mitzvah birthday – I knew he wouldn’t judge my sewing skills 😉. Once my creative juices started to flow, I followed with a tallit (prayer shawl), a bandana, and then a Sefer Torah (I had seen a kid’s soft play version online so I did my best to copy it). I also ordered a personalized doggy “pupcake” for the occasion (@willowspantry).
My friends and family thought I was crazy, but they also knew how much I love my Benji boy and how proud I am of my Jewishness. (Even though we couldn’t go physically to shul during COVID – online services kept us engaged with our community, and Benji watched with me). I’m not sure my Orthodox Rabbi would approve of Benji’s Bark Mitzvah so I haven’t told him. I took lots of photos of Benji in his new outfit and then had the idea of using Photoshop to superimpose Benji in front of an Aaron Kodesh (holy ark). My internet image search located a beautiful synagogue (credit to Congregation Sinai in San Jose, CA) that fitted my purpose and so I created a lovely image of Benji dressed up, “reading from the Torah” on the bimah (raised platform in a synagogue from which services are led and the Torah is read). It must have been very realistic as after I posted it online, someone asked which shul allowed dogs inside and onto the bimah. (They were serous, too!)