Hello and welcome to May! I love this time of year because the warmer days, blossoming flowers, and planning my garden give me hope. I love the winter as well, but there’s something about the way the air smells when the earth wakes up that makes my heart happy. I had to say goodbye to my good brown dog, Syd, in April. She was only nine but was losing weight and slowing down, so we knew her time was coming, but it did not unfold as expected. She woke up with a HUGE lip after getting bitten by a spider. After giving her Benadryl, we headed to the vet, who also happens to be a dear friend. Here’s where things got interesting.
My wife and I were sitting on the floor with her in the clinic when I suddenly felt nauseous. I ran to the bathroom, but I was feeling her energy as she bottomed out. Her temperature shot up, her heart rate went wonky, and the vet gave her a shot of something that brought her back, but she was still not right. I’d had a feeling there was something bigger going on, so we did x-rays and an ultrasound, which showed cancer in her chest cavity and on her spleen. The decision to let her go was softened by knowing it really was her time, and she was ready. The tears flowed as we gave her as much whipped cream as she wanted before we said goodbye.
Brown dog was the weirdest dog I’ve ever owned. She ate more poop than any dog I’ve read. She took up more of a king-sized bed than anyone I’ve ever slept beside. She also protected me in the most gentle mama bear way when the biggest of the other three dogs would get feisty and want my attention. Syd was a Good Girl, and the bonus is I can “see” her in the backyard doing zoomies in a fully functioning body and let me tell you, she is proud of not only how fast she can run but how amazingly quick she can turn and change directions. I may need to pay for therapy for my vet because everything I said as a psychic was validated by her medical knowledge. I even looked at my watch when she passed and said, “Time of death. 2:20pm.” It was like I was observing me saying it, but it was a message from her younger brother who passed two years ago. Twenty-two was their magic number. I guess we came full circle, and both of us were grateful for how it all went down, even though losing a dog is the one level of grief we can all agree upon- it sucks.
I didn’t mean to ramble so long about that, so I’ll end with a reading or two from people who submitted a question when I put out the call on my Facebook page.
Karen E. asked about Niko, her mini Aussie. “What can I do to help him not react/bite kids and guests who come over? Is he happier without Roxy?” Niko says he’s doing exactly what he was trained to do, and if they behaved better, I’d leave them alone. He’s asking for a very clear word that means he’s off the clock, and he’ll totally ignore them. You could ask a trainer for herding dogs how they do that!
Shayne G. wants to know about Maddie, a dog they recently adopted. “What does she think of her new life, us as her parents, and her sister? She’s still settling in and is praying you are not another stopping point on the journey. She loves you both so much especially dad, which is great because I don’t think she was treated well by men prior to you! Her sister can get up and begin the day without any warmup. Maddie takes a bit to get rolling.
Sara Moore is a psychic for people and pets living in Conway, NH. FMI go to www.enlightenedhorizons.com and follow her on FB at Sara Moore Enlightened Horizons.