Pancho is our July 2, 2017 Pup of the Week

How long does it take a dog and human to bond?  It is usually seconds.  But it can take much longer for a dog to be accepted into a pack.  

But there is a pack where dogs are accepted every day.  The pack is lead by Bisihi, who took that role from the legendary Angel Apollo.  Their mom, Kimberli Groom, is a mortal angel for dogs without homes.  She finds them, she brings them to her pack, and Bishi, Napa, and the other teachers help train these lost babies to be perfect dogs and find their forever homes.

Dozens of dogs move in and out of Bishi’s pack a year.  We barely get to know them before they are with their forever homes.  It is always a happy ending.

It is hard for mortal humans to understand why Pancho’s story has a happy ending.  Mortal humans define happiness as staying mortal.  But sometimes throwing off that old mortal coil can lead to joy.

Pancho came to Momma Kimberli a few months ago.  He won’t tell me where he was before then.  I can’t tell you if he remembers or doesn’t.  The Bridge has a way of Eternally Sun Shining all the bad memories away.    

When Pancho arrived at Momma Kimberli’s, he knew he was home.  He was determined to stay with this marvelous woman, and these terrific dogs, for the rest of his life.  But there was a problem.  Momma Kimberli, according to the law, could only have a certain number of dogs.  If she took Pancho as a permanent member of her pack, there would be one less unrescued dog for whom she could not find a new home.

But he could be there for a while.  And Pancho turned a while into forever.  

Pancho arrived with bad teeth and troublesome cough.  The doctor wondered if it was a kennel cough or some other curable disease, but it was not.  Pancho had congestive heart failure.  To the mortals it was a sad story, he never got his forever home.

But he did.  Pancho welcomed being sent to the Bridge.  He was met by Angel Apollo who congratulated him, he was part of their pack forever.  He would live with Angel Apollo and their other pack members forever.

Pancho had retrieved his great reward.  He was part of the family he loved, for the rest of his life, and into immortality.

Sometimes the end of a mortal life is the greatest gift.