For Sara

One the earliest blogs I started to read was Sticky Crows

It's written by Tornwordo (AKA Richard) a Californian living with his husband Serge in the wilds of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I've loved reading his tales of everyday life as a landlord to some odd assortment of people, his job teaching English to the French Canadians, his love of Serge (and poor Serge's inability to say certain English phrases, with Torn recording it for all of us to giggle at) and, mostly, his love of dog, Sara. Well, I'm certain Serge loved her too!

And this past Wednesday, Sara passed on. When I logged onto my blog today and saw that small image in the right hand corner of Sara, with the title "She's gone", I started to tear up (as I'm doing right now as I type this).

I clicked on the image and read about Sara's final moments.

I cried like I lost my own dog.

For those who never grew up with pets don't understand the emotional feelings we go through when that beloved pet slips this mortal coil. And I wish I could explain in words why we hurt so much, but I cannot. Love is love and our pets become much more family than a guard to protect us.

They are our family.

Perhaps the final lines of Beth Norman Harris' Treat Me Kindly sums up some aspect of our relationships with dogs and why we love them. And what we must do when the time comes.

"Please see that my
trusting life is taken gently. I shall
leave this earth knowing with the last
breath I drew, that my fate was always
safest in your hand."

And for Richard and Serge, I send all my hopes and prayers, but mostly hugs.

She'll never be gone, as long as you remember her.