A friend posted in Facebook that she had a bad night last night and a bad day today. She said she was snuggling with her dog in the bed and that made her feel better. I thought of Sonny. He was my doxie for nearly 16 years. I felt the familiar yearning to see him again. He slept with me. I often gave him the best part of my cozy little bed. People who do not understand the relationship a person can have with a beloved dog think giving the dog the best part of the bed because he has already gone to sleep and you don't want to wake him up is insane. Well, to be honest, it seemed so to me at times also but I rarely disturbed Sonny once he found his "spot". In the last months of his life he began sleeping right in the middle of the bed leaving no room for me so I would move him gently to one side. He was blind and had progressive congestive heart failure and was probably a wee bit deaf. Moving him startled him at times but I had to sleep and I always petted him and we talked about the time when I would need to let him go. I promised him that I would be brave and let him go when there was no more quality of life for him. I remember my last night with him. He was struggling for breath and trying to rest. I gave him a pain pill to ease his discomfort and I stroked him and whispered to him how much I loved him. We went to the vet the next day and, as I expected, I came home and Sonny did not come home. He was off running free from pain and suffering. He may have met Rico and Sugar, two cats he grew up with, as soon as he crossed over. I was left here to grapple with the realization that the love I shared with Sonny transcended our differences. We were the best of the best...true family. I am not ready to start a new relationship with a dog at this moment though I know there will come a day when I will meet a dog who calls my name and I will call him mine.
Good-night, Sonny, sleep well in your new home! I love you!
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