When Dogs Become Part of the Family: My Story

The loss of a pet dog can be devastating

Many of us have pets that we cling to. For me, they are my dogs. I had Rover, Panther, Renegade, Rascal and of course, deal little Lucy. And they all lived their names to the hilt. It is amazing how pets relate to us and more so, when you etch that special bond with them. Rover was a half breed Doberman – he had a lithe frame and a definitively positive glow about him. He was fierce when he wanted to be and would not let anyone trespass our yards. And he was smart enough to tell mom about the large lizard behind the walls by barking and directing her towards the intruder…yes, in his own doggy way, he made his instructions very clear! Dobermans are like the German Shepherds, the one master type and Rover was no exception. He would never take any instructions from anyone other than my father but he would be a truly fun loving pet with all the family members. He lived with us so many years until one fateful day when he knew it was going to be his last day with us. It was uncanny. I had prepared for school that day and when I greeted Rover that morning, he lacked the usual glow about him. He looked at me with his two sweet eyes cast down and after he seemed perfectly sure he had looked at me and communicated his goodbyes through his eyes, he slid away and took his spot near his kennel. I was extremely disturbed. I had never seen Rover in that manner before. I asked my mom to get my father to look into him. My father apparently did and he told my mom he would get back and check on him after work. Well, when I did return home, I saw my father loading the dog onto a wheelbarrow in the garden. He seemed limp. I stopped short there and then! He was gone! Dear Rover, was gone! My father looked at me with tears welling in his eyes and wheeled him to the garden spot where he’d be buried. Not a word was said but this dog had actually waited for each family member to return before it collapsed and went to the heavens where all good dogs like Rover went. Then there was Lucy – she was a compulsive runner who loved to have a good time and hated her baths. She was given to us by a French expatriate family who loves dogs and when they wanted to bequeath Lucy, they gave her to us. Panther was a puppy when we had him and he died a

Dogs are from heaven too!

puppy. He loved to bite almost anything he could find. My father said he was teething but this little pup packed a great deal of his teething habits into our newspapers, letters …anything he could find practically ruining our stuff around the house but we loved him. One day, my father left him in the yard to take a run and Panther just crossed into the road. At that second, we had a neighbor who was speeding his car through and he ran over Panther without a wink. There was no excuse to speed on a neighborhood road. Panther was in a terrible state and he was dead. All we got was a cake which we threw and tons of tears to spare. My brother wept endlessly – he was the one who found Panther as a little puppy in a drain and he wanted him that bad. Well, my brother did not stop his tears. He missed the pup. One day, as I was drawing the curtains at about 7 pm, I saw a splurge of figure dash on the road right before my eyes but there was nothing …simply a shadow passing by and I felt eerie suddenly. I knew it was Panther and I told my brother to let the dog stay in heaven and not anywhere else, if you know what I mean. That was the last we ever wept over Panther. Rascal and Renegade of course had their own stories to share. Pets are divine and it not easy to lose a pet. Much grief goes into a pet loss – it can be devastating to any member of the family. Pets make our lives happy in so many ways and I would not discount my dogs in any way. They have shown us so much love and I have grown with them to know what it means to lose one Rover or one Panther or one Rascal or mischievous Renegade.

Kaccents.com holds some special dog statues and pet memorials at the following url, each in its character and form:

http://www.kaccents.com/For_Home/Garden/Dog_Statues.htm
Written by Romilla D. for Kaviik’s Accents
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