If you are grieving the loss of your furbaby,
please know that you are not alone. I send
this story out to people who contact me through
E-mail to tell me they have lost their beloved
dog, cat, bird or other beloved pet.
I'm so very sorry for your loss and the indescribable
sorrow and grief you have experienced. I
understand and know your pain because we
lost our precious little muttapoo, Nicholas,
on May 19, 1998. He was diagnosed with Canine
Lymphoma, in April of 1997.
See Nicky's story at Canine Lymphoma: Nicholas' Story
We fought hard, but the cancer finally won.
Nicholas was never really sick until the
day we put him to sleep. I don't have any
human children and I felt as if I had lost
the love of my life.
But I want to tell you, it DOES get easier.
There may be some days when you don't even
want to get out of bed but there WILL come
a time when you think of your baby, that
you smile instead of cry. I promise! I'm
going to tell you a story. It is a true story.
It is a story that I pray will give you hope
and inspiration. Please pass it on to others
when you hear of a need. This is what happened.
Sparkey's Story
A few years ago a friend of ours, a really
wonderful lady named Lou, was diagnosed with
terminal breast cancer. At the time of this
sad diagnosis, it was to late for the doctors
to do much to help Lou. A mutual friend of
ours, named Jan, was Lou's very best friend
in the whole world. Jan was also a registered
nurse and had experienced being with many
people, at the end of life.
Over the years, and on many occasions, Jan
and I would have "discussions"
about whether or not animals would be waiting
for us when we die. I always contended that
they would be, because the Bible says that
there are white horses at the right hand
of God, so it always seemed to me that if
there were white horses, there would be other
animals waiting for us as well. Jan firm
stance was that animals did not have souls,
therefore they could not go to heaven and
they would not be there waiting to greet
us.
(Her strict religious upbringing was coming
through)
As Lou became more and more ill, and grew
even closer to death, Jan stayed with her
day and night. Lou finally sank into a deep
coma and stayed there for three solid weeks.
When she died, Jan was there with her, by
her side.
Jan called me the next morning to tell me
that Lou had passed way the night before.
But Jan didn't tell me the rest of the story
for several weeks to come.
You see, it seems that on the night that
Lou died, she awoke suddenly from her coma.
Her eyes opened and she said one single,
solitary word. Lou exclaimed in a quiet,
weakened whisper, "SPARKY!" And
then just as suddenly as she had awakened,
she died.
None of Lou's family knew who "Sparky"
was. Not her husband of 45 years, not her
grown children, not Jan, no one.
A couple of weeks later, Jan got a call from
Lou's family, asking her to please come to
their home as soon as possible. It seemed
they had something of great importance to
show to her. When Jan arrived, Lou's family
greeted her with a smile, and then put something
in Jan's hand.
It was an old black and white picture....
of a little girl, and a German Shepherd.
On the back it was hand written in faded
ink...Lou...age 10...and Sparky.
I believe you'll see your baby again! And
know this! Your fur baby is having the time
of their life! And they knew how deeply you
loved, and that you always will. I think
they would want us to be happy for the time
we shared together. Hugs, and prayers to
you. I want you to know, you are not alone
in loving an animal so very much! Robin Pressnall