Greatest Gift of Love is Letting Go
My theme song is dedicated to my sweet dog Q. E.
My Girl by the Temptations
Well, I have not had the energy to post on my blog lately. We have been busy with lots to share but it has been a difficult month for us. One of the deal-breakers I had in moving to Ecuador was that we bring our 3 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels to Ecuador. For the past 3 years, they have adjusted well and our little pet family thrived. However, on May 13th I had to say my final goodbye to “My Girl” Q.E. (Queen Elizabeth). She was 12 years old and we had many good and bad times together. She died of congestive heart failure and could hardly breathe. I looked at her chest x-ray and her heart was so large it covered her whole chest. We had a wonderful vet and he tried giving her treating her with medication and was hopeful. But when I got her home she had trouble standing up. I held her all morning and saw her struggling to take a breath. So my last gift to her was to say goodbye and one of the hardest things I have ever done. I had my face directly into hers and sang our little theme song “My Girl” as she peacefully drifted to eternal sleep. Our theme song started when she was attacked by pit bulls and nearly died. Her wounds were so bad that they could not be closed. So she came home with a drain and I had to irrigate her open wound with warm water for 20 minutes 3 times a day. So I would place her in the bathtub and use a gentle spray nozzle to irrigate the water therapy. I had a kitchen timer set and I would sing to her “My Girl” which stuck and I would sing a song to her for the rest of her life.
The Rainbow Bridge Poem
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My Girl is buried in our front yard near our swing and the view of Mama Cotacachi Volcano. So forever loved and never forgotten. Why can I not stop crying?
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JUST A DOG From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a dog,” or “that’s a lot of money for just a dog.” They don’t understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a dog.” Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a dog.” Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a dog,” but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a dog,” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a dog” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think it’s “just a dog,” then you will probably understand phrases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.” “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure and unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person. Because of “just a dog,” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a dog” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a dog,” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a woman.” So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog,” just smile–because they “just don’t understand.” -Author Unknown |
