a dog's life

My fabulous Mother-in-Law sent this story to me, courtesy of her friend Reverend Vincent Watson.  Wanted to share it with you guys...

Jackie and I had a great visit with a good friend last Wednesday and when she was about to leave she said   she had to take care of her two dogs.  This reminded me of an item from another good friend  titled

DOG YEARS

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year old Irish Wolfhound named Belker.  The dog’s owners, Ronald and Lisa and their little boy Shane were all very attached to Belker and were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found that he was in the last stages of cancer.  I told the family that there were no miracles left for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia for their old dog tomorrow.  As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me that they thought that Shane should be there for the procedure.  They thought he would learn something.

So the next day I felt a catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him because Shane seemed so calm, petting his old dog for the last time.  I  began to wonder  if he understood what was going on.  Within a few minutes, after I’d applied the needle, Belker slipped peacefully away.

Shane seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for awhile, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are much shorter than human lives.

Then Shane, who had been listening, piped up, “I know why.” Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next, stunned me.  I had never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, “People are born so they can learn how to live a good life, like loving everybody and being nice, right?”  Then, he continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

I hope that you know what dogs already know.  And I hope I do too.

I just love the message in this story.  So simple, so true.  Kids are naturally intuitive.  They understand much more than we give them credit for.  Our children teach us lessons every single day.  Many more than we could ever teach them, for sure.  Shane made such sense out of a dog's life's purpose.  I agree with him wholeheartedly!  Magic!  Thanks, Reverend Vin!

Peace,

V

my boys loving each other <3