Every good hero needs a sidekick.
Batman had Robin. Sherlock Holmes had Watson. Even Dorothy had Toto.
But what about the rest of us?
As I thought about the different chapters of my own life, I realized that I’ve had quite a few sidekicks along the way. Depending on where we are on life’s journey, the companions walking beside us can change. Some stay for only a short chapter, while others remain with us for years. But each one leaves a lasting imprint.
When I was very young, I had a couple of Siamese cats named Felix and Sabrina. My grandmother’s friend gave them to me, and they quickly became part of my world. They also began my lifelong love for the Siamese breed, a love that would return later in my life.
When I think back to my early school-age days, Felix and Sabrina were there at the beginning and end of every day. At night, one would lie on my chest and purr while the other would climb to the top of my head and settle onto the pillow. Somehow, the two of them would synchronize their purring while I drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, I could hear my grandmother yelling from another room that I needed to get ready for school. Meanwhile, all three of us would lie in bed yawning and trying to figure out how we could possibly stay there all day.
They are some of my fondest memories of my first sidekicks.
Several years later, another companion entered my life—a German Shepherd mix named Oso, which means “bear” in Spanish. He went everywhere I went outside. We explored the canals near my grandmother’s house and walked past the fields that stretched beyond the old dirt road near us.
I didn’t know what I was looking for on all those walks, but Oso never seemed to care. He was happy simply to walk alongside me.
Looking back, maybe that was the point. Sometimes you don’t need to know exactly where you are going when you have someone you trust walking beside you.
It wasn’t until I was much older that another sidekick entered my life. Work had overtaken my life, and I was living alone when my younger brother kept insisting that I needed a pet. He would send me pictures of Siamese cats at shelters that needed to be adopted. Eventually, I started searching a pet adoption website myself.
That’s when I came across the story of a Siamese cat whose owner had developed dementia and would sometimes forget to feed her. His daughter was looking for a solution for both her father and the cat, and I felt compelled to respond.
The result was Frida.
She was six years old when she came into my life, and she quickly bonded with me. We spent many nights together watching television or cuddling on my bed. She loved burying herself under the covers, and if there was a warm spot anywhere in the house, you could be sure Frida would find it.
She lived to be about 12 years old before developing kidney disease. Watching my trusted companion slowly drift away because of that illness was incredibly difficult. Losing her left an emptiness that took some time to heal.
Eventually, I decided I would try adopting again.
I drove about 40 miles to meet an older Siamese cat I was considering adopting. But when I arrived, the cat wanted nothing to do with me.
Sometimes, however, life has a different plan.
There was a kitten there that I hadn’t realized was a Siamese. For such a small cat, he had the loudest purr I had ever heard. He immediately clung to me, and when I picked him up, I knew this little guy was the sidekick I needed to take home.
I named him Diego.
Diego was six months old when he came into my life, and he ended up living to the ripe old age of 18 years and two months. A cancerous tumor in his kidney eventually took his life.
I had never had a pet live that long. Diego witnessed so many changes in my life. He met new nephews, traveled with me to visit my mom periodically, and was there during some of the most harrowing times, including when I contracted COVID-19.
Through it all, he stuck by me. Somehow, he always seemed to provide a sense of comfort and resilience, no matter how difficult the day had been.
When I lost Diego, I thought, “Well, it will be quite a while before I even think about adopting another pet.”
Four months later, life had other plans once again.
It was the month I had planned to retire from work when I received a text from a friend. Attached was a picture of a brindle French Bulldog with a simple message: He needed a home.
His owner was moving out of state and couldn’t take him along.
I thought I would go meet him on the Fourth of July last year. After spending a couple of hours visiting with this happy-go-lucky pup, the foster mother asked me if I wanted to take him home.
My friend and I looked at each other. A few minutes later, Jack was sitting in my truck with me, heading toward a new life after saying goodbye to the family who had been caring for him.
Since then, it has been nothing but exercise and adventure for both of us.
Jack makes me laugh throughout the day, and I honestly don’t miss work the way I thought I might after retirement. In many ways, he has filled that space with something I didn’t know I needed.
I can’t say enough about how much I love my new sidekick, or how much gratitude I have for all the others who have shared different chapters of my life.
When I walk Jack Ryan around the neighborhood, we meet all sorts of new friends and their pups. Whenever another dog comes up to say hello, Jack immediately gushes over them, convinced that he has just met his newest best friend and brand-new playmate.
And maybe that is one of the things our sidekicks teach us.
They remind us to be present. To explore. To be curious. To find joy in the simplest things. And, most importantly, to appreciate the companionship we have while we have it.
Our sidekicks may change as we travel through life, but each one walks with us for a reason. They become part of our stories, our memories and, in ways we may not realize until later, part of who we become.
Perhaps that is the real gift of having a sidekick.
They don’t necessarily change the destination. They make the journey better.
Felix and Sabrina were there when I was a little boy trying to figure out the world. Oso was beside me on those long walks when I didn’t really know where I was going. Frida found me during a time when I needed companionship. Diego stayed with me through nearly two decades of life’s changes. And now there is Jack Ryan, reminding me every day that retirement isn’t about slowing down—it’s about having the freedom to enjoy the journey with the right companion beside you.
I’ve learned that we don’t always get to choose when our sidekicks enter or leave our lives. But we can choose to be grateful for the time we are given with them.
So, when you think about the sidekicks who have walked alongside you, I hope it brings a smile to your face, just as it does mine.
Here’s to Felix and Sabrina. To Oso, Frida and Diego. And to Jack Ryan, who is writing the newest chapter with me.
Because life is a journey, and every hero deserves a good sidekick.
