There has been an outpouring of kindness from friends over the past few days. Here, on the InterWeb. This Social Media Bucket. Thank you. Incredibly much.
I am overwhelmed. Completely. I’ve taken in every word of every comment. Some I have read several times over. They have been kind wishes. From pictures, and poems, to Rainbow Bridges, and videos. I am thankful for all.
People have also recounted small anecdotes, telling of their own dogs. This is golden. These stories.
Part of this, I think, is that we all fear, or we have known that day, when we lose our trusted companions. And that pain strikes our hearts, and leaves a big freakin’ gaping hole. The size of Texas.
That aside. We all love our dogs. It is their wonder, and beauty. Their style and form. Their absolute grace in this world. Character.
As you know, we have (had) three dogs. We. But the thing of it is, a dog will choose their human. Our little Ollie looks to Mary for everything. Frances chose me to be her closest friend. And dear Maxine… welllll….. she was the boss of everyone in the whole wide world.
Yes. The amazing character of dogs. Even though Ollie favors Mary, she has given me so much time and energy, in the past few days. She is keeping an eye on me, hanging out, wanting to play, putting her head on my lap.
France and Max followed me like the CIA. Maxine, being deaf and blind, became a growth on my leg. If she was awake, she had her nose to my calf, where ever I was standing. And Frances would plop her body down, as close to me as possible. Walking became an interesting endeavor in the past few months.
But now they have passed, Ollie truly seems to be taking care of me. Yes, that amazing character of dogs.
Finally, people have speculated about the timing of their deaths. First Max, and three days later, Frances. People have wondered about their spirits wanting to be together. France moving toward Max.
It could be true. But Max was pretty bossy. She would browbeat her “sister” Frances, even though she was outweighed by 50 pounds. And our dear Saint Frances would tolerate this. Endlessly.
No, what I think happened is this. Max crossed over from this place to the other side. And in that space, she was the one who missed Frances. Simply for the domineering factor. So Max really gave it to her… “Frances. Get over here right now. Right now, do you hear me?”
And once again, for the final time. Frances looked at me and asked. I told her it was okay to go. So on she went to Max.
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“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.”
― Bob Marley
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“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh!” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
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