The circle of life, or cycle, whichever you prefer, is sometimes hard and painful. We have ups and downs constantly and the hard times seem to overshadow the good ones at times. No one ever said it would be otherwise but there are days when you wish it weren’t so painfully hard.
Our four-legged children become so much a part of our lives and are like family so having to say goodbye is no easy task. The world would be a much better place if all of us acted more like our pets.
They love unconditionally without discrimination and are always happy to see you. They listen to every word intently and we tell them our deepest secrets, which they keep to themselves. I often wonder if they tell their other buddies though! They comfort us when we are sad. They are loyal to the core.
Someone said that a pet opens up a part of your soul in a way nothing else can. I’m not sure who said that and don’t feel like looking for it but I happen to agree with the sentiment.
They bring us joy and cause us to laugh at their antics and to really appreciate how loving they are.
They become our very best friends who are there through thick and thin regardless. They chew up your shoes, pens and anything else they can find. They jump in your lap, even if they really are too big to sit on you. They take over our beds. But they have our hearts and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sunday, we had to say goodbye to our four-legged grandchild. She was only 11 but developed congestive heart failure which progressively grew worse the last couple of weeks.
I traveled almost two hours to check out some puppies I was told were adorable. Since my older daughter had moved out and taken her dog with her, I was wanting one for my youngest daughter.
When I arrived there were four to choose from of the litter. I immediately spotted the one which Cally would name Lady. She was fluffy, smaller and even though I looked at the other three, I kept coming back to her. There was just something in her eyes that made me choose her.
Cally had no idea I was getting a puppy and this one was going to be an early 16th birthday present. She was elated.
Of course, as with most teenagers, I spent more time with Lady in the early years and took care of her. But even with that, she always knew she was Cally’s dog. As time went on Cally took up more time with her and Lady became her best friend.
Scared to death of bad weather, she would always want to get in your lap or to hide somewhere when storms came.
Cally had a cat and for a while I think Lady thought she was a cat. But four years ago, I decided I needed a furbaby of my own as I knew eventually Lady would be leaving when Cally got married. I kind of forced it on my hubby and now he is glad I did.
Lady was not sure what to make of this new creature we had brought home, especially as Roxie grew bigger and bigger. Still they became pals of sort, with Lady trying to be in charge but Roxie not having any of it. She wanted to play and Lady would for a little bit but not for very long.
Roxie taught Lady that toys were fun and you could play with them. Up until that time Lady had shown little interest in toys. In fact, one of my favorite pictures of Lady, is her with one of the squeaky toys in her mouth.
The two dogs together were funny to watch at times. Roxie always wants someone to go outside with her and Lady would most always oblige. If one came in without the other, the one inside would always let you know when the other one was at the door. If Roxie was the one inside sometimes she seemed to scold Lady for not coming in sooner.
Not sure exactly why but Lady never did take much to children. She never bit one but always tried to avoid them when possible. Roxie on the other hand, loves them. In fact, Lady didn’t take to many people. She would put up with most everything you did with her, even being dressed up in an outfit even though you could really tell she didn’t like it one bit.
When Cally took her to their house after she got married, she would still bring her to our house. We jokingly said that Roxie was babysitting. She was always still excited to see us and sometimes she did not really want to go home when they came to pick her up. We kept her when Jeff and Cally went on vacation for a week.
After a visit to the vet on Friday, Cally received the devastating news but we thought we would have longer with her. The vet told Cally she would know when it was time to let her go. She was worse Sunday and went to hide in a place she never went so Cally knew it was time. David and I went with them to the vet and we almost did not make it in time. Lady is no longer suffering. She left her paw print on our hearts and we must carry on and keep her in our memories. We will miss her but our lives were richer from having her.©2016

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com