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Saying Goodbye
"Those of us whose hearts have been broken by
the death of a pet understand how devastating this experience can
be. We have lost a close friend --a creature whose companionship and
unconditional love we've grown accustomed to, and sorely miss! When
our dog "Ash Wednesday" died, we were inconsolable. She had a big
presence in our lives and her absence left behind a gaping hole.
ENTER "AMBER" -- a beautiful, rambunctious Golden Retriever puppy --
full of life! Her
 exuberance
and "joie de vivre" completely won us over! She made us smile
through our tears and put our sorrow behind us. Someday Amber will
also break our hearts, but that makes her time with us now all the
more precious.
Her portrait makes us smile -- it commemorates the years of happy
memories she gives us, and is a reminder that we will fall in love
again!"
I wrote this a few years ago. Sadly, the "someday" I referred to has
happened -- Amber died in her sleep on Sept 3, shortly after
midnight. It was as gentle a parting as we could have hoped for --
under the stars in her own front yard, as we held her, but we are,
of course, devastated. Amber graced our lives for 13&1/2 years -- a
good run for a Golden Retriever, but however long she might have
lived, her leaving would have been too soon.
Everything we say to try to comfort people suffering the loss of a
beloved pet comes back to us now, and it doesn't help much -- any
more than it did for them -- only the balm of time, and
 knowing
that we've survived this before, and will no doubt go through it all
again when another pup comes along to break our hearts. We set
ourselves up when we bring an animal home, knowing we will likely
outlive them, and yet we gladly take on that eventuality, knowing
how much joy & unconditional love they give us.
Amber was truly an angel among us -- she even had a halo of golden
fur! We can see her greeting the travel weary souls at Heaven's
Gates, just as she did the tourists that stopped to pet her in the
French Quarter, and more recently, at the train depot in Blue Ridge,
GA--offering them her Teddy Bear. She enjoyed being a surrogate dog
for those missing their pets back home. She loved everybody!
We know that another pup will come along someday when the time is
right, and we look forward to that time...but Amber will be a hard
act to follow!
We miss you, Michael & Evelyn Brown
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Posted October 24, 2007 |
