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Sunday
March 2010
14
Community Blogs
I'm a mom of a 15-year-old daughter and a very energetic golden retriever. I lean to the right, but I don't plan on making this blog about politics unless issues demand. I do plan on discussing those things that life throws at us, from the trivial to the troubling. My goal is also to keep things relevant by keeping them local, but like the politics thing, I may draw outside of those lines from time to time. I enjoy people and their stories, because we all have one, and look forward to sharing and hearing about more.
The Golden Rules, part V (I think)
I've heard the saying that dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. Having been owned by dogs for nearly 20 years, I have to agree.
My own dogs and my fosters have graced my life, and I feel have made my soul a little gentler, a little more perceptive and gosh I hope kinder as well. Our first foster failure (the endearment for a foster dog that you can't give up and end up keeping for yourself) Ralphie was no exception.
About three years ago, he was a six-year-old labeled as aggressive with children, and for the life of us, we could never elicit a response from him that would even approach anger. We muse from time to time what cretins these children must have been, as Ralph would bark you to the point of deafness, but truly was all talk.
While three years does not seem long enough to form a huge attachment, Ralph was one of those dogs that needed us, and at the time, we needed him. He was the balm that healed me from the passing of my first two dogs, and he just fit into our lives and hearts with ease. My first image of him was his initial greeting, walking directly toward me to plant a wet sloppy kiss on my mouth.
Just as suddenly, however, we are forced to say goodbye...a cancerous mass on his liver would end his life yesterday, and take a part of our lives with him. As many of you know, it's been a trying year, and to say that this comes as a sucker punch is an understatement. Ralph's mellow nature was comforting and his zest for eating comical at times, and will always be what we remember most about him. His loss leaves a hole that I fear will not easily be repaired.
As 2010 approaches, I am all too eager to lose 2009. It's been a cruel year for so many, and I will enter into it looking to repair and heal again...hopefully with the spirit of that gentle dog at my side.
""Not the least thing hard to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives...No stone stands over where he lies. It is on our hearts that his life is engraved."
my heart goes out to you for your loss. i lost a dog this year too.
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