“We leave behind a bit of ourselves wherever we have been.”
- Edmond Haraucourt
Though I’m sure this was intended for 2-legged humans, I think it also applies to our four legged friends.
My eldest son had to put his dog down last week. He grew up in a family that had a dog/s, but they were the “family” dogs, never one that was just his. A very hard decision and one he sought counsel on. He’s never been through that before.
She had been one of my fosters, through my work with rescue, and he’d met her when she’d been returned to me after a failed adoption.
To be honest, when I first took her to the “approved” adopter’s home for a visit, I didn’t feel comfortable about it. They just didn’t seem a fit? But I had not done the background reference check, I had not done the “pre approval” home visit – I was just the foster.
After a week, they called me to come get her, “wasn’t working out” they said.
It was Christmas time, my family was all descending upon me for the holidays. My Mom was on a walker, I already had one large German Shepherd female of my own, another failed adoption had just come back to me several days earlier and now this one? Three large GSDs and a house full of family?
Boy was I gonna be in trouble . . .
Then quite the opposite happened. My son arrives, the next morning as he comes out of his bedroom, the foster is sitting there patiently outside the door waiting for him. It was love at first “pet”. He hadn’t come home planning to adopt a dog, especially one as large as this one, or that sheds quite so much.
But love is love.
He wrote the most amazing tribute to her on Facebook. He lost her 9 years to the day of her arrival at his home when I flew with her out there. She left paw prints on all our hearts. She was a beloved pet. She has left a little bit of herself behind (and undoubtedly they’ll be finding dog hair for a while) and we’re all the better for it.
“We leave behind a bit of ourselves wherever we have been.”
Run free sweet girl . . .
suddenlysinglewomen 