“We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own; live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan…” -“The Once Again Prince”-Irving Townsend
In her last hours she didn’t have to tell us she loved us or she was sorry for anything. She lived that way every day. What I remember most is how she taught me the lesson of unconditional love. Sometimes she was sassy and misbehaved. But I don’t remember many of those moments anymore. What I do remember is no matter what was going on, whether she ignored our commands and tore off through the woods in search of a big Labrador Retriever adventure or if she was lounging at my feet, there was always room in Sadie’s day to give us love. Time after time, lick after lick, she loved us. If we were late getting home, she didn’t mind. If we were intent in our own agendas and activities, she just moved in a little closer. Sadie lived life big. From her paws and ears to her barrel chest and bark, she left her mark on this world and in the hearts of all who knew her. For Steve and me, she stole our hearts from the day we each met her and took pieces of them with her as her big heart beat its last… bum-bum..bum-bum….
The pain of losing our beloved Sadie cuts as sharply today as it did 85 days ago. Our hearts break all over again every time we talk or laugh about her. Yet the boundless joy that was ours for nearly eleven years trickles through the cracks in my heart like warm honey. The gift of her life was magical. She was an angel disguised by yellowish-white fur and ears as soft as cashmere. When that fragile circle of life was breached and she took her last earthly breath, my heart was breaking in a way it had never been pierced before. I held her close for one more moment and whispered, “Thank you, ol’ girl. You loved us well.”
beautiful.
I’ve told you before that I believe Sadie and Zeus have found each other in heaven and are having a good laugh about their silly “human pets.” Laugh as they will, they know they were loved while they lived their lives here with us as our four-legged, furry angels.
Awe, breaks my heart. They are never forgotten…sweet, loving, faithful friends