Casey is our May 18 2018 Pup of the Week

Another week is gone, and more of my friends have arrived at Rainbow Bridge.  I will not let a single one pass through the gates at the end of Rainbow Bridge without paying tribute to them.  Hopefully, my words can bring just a single second of comfort to their bereaved parents because if we can’t provide comfort for friends in need what is the point of existence?

A month ago I wrote about Jessie, my Blogville friend, who passed over the Bridge, a victim of renal failure, just short of her fourth birthday.  Having young dogs arrive here is particularly hard as we can see the future they could have had with their family if they had not been so unfairly claimed by illness.  What makes these premature passings even more tragic is they usually have an older sibling who is closer to the age dogs mortal lives end.

Casey is Jessie’s big brother.  As much as their mom loved Jessie she knew, from the moment that she met Casey, that they would share a bond that she would never experience with another pup. Mom and dog were meant to be together, going on walks with Casey’s head held high and snuggling on the couch together for hours.  Casey was a heart dog, his mom’s handsome man, her baby boy. He was happy if he was with his mom, and so was she.

Earlier this year Casey was diagnosed with cancer, and all the doctor could give him was an estimate of the time he had left.  His mom promised him that they would make the most of their time together and she would never let him lose his dignity. When his body began failing him his mom arranged for Casey’s favorite people to visit him to tearfully say goodbye and then she took him to the vet.

Mother and dog promised they would see each again.  She stroked her boy and told him she was upholding her promise.  He would not live in pain; he would not lose his dignity, the bad memories would not outweigh the good.  Casey knew the gift of eternal life he was receiving, and he quietly slept from the mortal world to the immortal one.

He appeared in the distance, running as he had as a pup, turning and crossing the Bridge, tiny pebbles being kicked up under his paws.  He stopped and saw Jessie, and Cinderella, who had preceded Jessie to the Bridge, along with dozens of other angels, cheering Casey as he ran up the steps and into his sisters’ open arms and holding each other for a long time.

He graciously allowed me to give him the angel oath, and be fitted for his wings while the clouds of human tears fell on us.  When the skies had cleared from the good hard rain, Casey told his sisters he made his mom a promise, which the three of them would run through the hills, streams, and valleys, laughing all the way, just as she had envisioned.  The trio of siblings darted off and ran together for hours.

Now, when not playing together, they are visiting their mom as birds, butterflies and ghosts.while slipping into her dreams hoping for just one second she will recognize them or remember their visits.  The odds are slim. But so are the odds of finding the perfect heart dog. His mom did that with Casey.