~ all dogs go to heaven ~

First of all, let me just say I am a big fan of those emo simpatico moments. You know the ones. We’ve all had them. Say you wake up with this particular edge of sadness that colored your dreams. You can’t quite shake the feeling, and you wonder what it’s all about. Then a photo falls onto the floor at your feet, blown by the open window, with a sudden gush of warmer-than-usual January air. You pick it up and see that it is a photograph of your lovely old dog who died last year. You are hit with a fresh pain as you wish with all your heart you had taken him to the beach more. You cry a little, but move on with your day.

A little while later, checking facebook, you see that a friend has posted that heartwrenching song by Eddie Vedder. You know the one…Nothing you would take…Everything you gave…Love you till I die,..Meet you on the other side. Yes, that one. The song that came on at the exact moment you looked into your dogs eyes to say goodbye. The song that will forever remind you of that last moment. And then you cry a little harder. Well, let’s be honest. You weep. You remember his grin and his wiggly waggly happy dance when he saw you. How he would cross his paws as if he were the Prince of Belgium. The way he was the  gentle guardian with family and friends, and the way he loved your daughter from the first moment he sniffed her little baby feet. In all your life you have never felt such regal protection and loyalty.

And perhaps most of all you miss going to the beach with him. It was like Doggie Heaven. He always went a bit mad there, like some deranged sea wolf plunging into the water’s edge. Yet, he was still ruggedly handsome with his sandy muzzle and wild eyes. And he would run crazy sheep dog circles around you, herding you in a way that lay somewhere instinctually deep in his blood. Of course he rolled around with true ecstatic abandon like a 3 year old in a sand box. And no matter how many times he had been, he acted like he was discovering the best freaking thing he had ever seen in his entire life. Then he would prance. Oh, how he loved to prance. And even though, he would inevitably shake his saltydog fishy-smelling sandy wetness all over you, those moments are still the closest you may ever get to heaven.

You smile remembering that tired, grateful look in his eye on the way home. You know he had a good life. You are thankful that his joy at being alive was a thing of beauty that graced your daily existence  for many years. You console yourself knowing that you will see your beloved boy on the other side one day.

Then you realize your friend is out of town, and her sweet little dog could probably use a mid-day walk. And you are in luck…because, funny thing that…he loves the beach, too.

Thanks Finn for a hearty romp today!

Thank you Kaya for giving me a little piece of heaven on earth that is forever in my daily heart.

And for reminding me to:

~ just breathe ~

~ <3 ~