Lucy is our July 15, 2018 Pup of the Week

I heard a beeping on my phone in the middle of the night and knew what that foretold.  Yet another angel had earned their wings. I put on my judge’s robe, and my big slippers, because the grass was wet with dew, then hurried to the meeting point at the top of Rainbow Bridge.

I looked at my phone for an update.  It said my friend Lucy would be joining us.  I sighed. Such a brave girl. She had been fighting a winning battle against cancer for three years.  But the thing about cancer is it only has to win twice when it first arrives, and the final battle.

It was in the middle of the night at Lucy’s mom April’s house.  I wondered if Lucy had slipped away during the wee hours. She has always been such a polite girl.  It would be so like her not to make a fuss, or force her mom to make the hardest decision, and just let her mortal coil be found in the morning when Lucy could return as an angel and give her mom the comfort she needed.

When I reached the greeting area, there was a man looking over the river.   A human waiting for a pup to cross is rare. The last time I saw one, it was Macdougal’s dad who I had met when I arrived.  I stood next to the nice looking man who smiled down at me. We waited silently.

First, we heard the paw steps, then we saw Lucy, running, for the first time in years, cancer free, feeling young and spry.   The man next to me bent down and whistled. Lucy’s ears perked up, and she saw him, then she ran so fast she was like a lightning bolt zagging across the grass.

Lucy ran into his arms and knocked him over.  She started licking his face 1,000 times. Apparently, they knew one another. I started to feel I was intruding and stepped back.  The man and the dog played for five minutes until Lucy turned to me. “Foley, this is my dad, he has been waiting for me,” Lucy explained.

I didn’t know Lucy had a Dad at the Bridge  I took his paw in my hand and introduced myself.  I told him, there were certain rituals that we had to follow and he stepped aside and told me he would not interfere.  By now word had spread of Lucy’s arrival, and her friends ran over hills and through valleys to get to their beloved pup pal.

Her father watched happily as his baby played with her friends and acted like the pup he once knew. Finally, Lucy separated herself from the dogs and went to her father. I did not want to eavesdrop, but I was standing near them and have always been a bit of a snoop.

They talked about Lucy’s mom.  Our little friend was worried. Lucy knew her mom would be heartbroken and she wanted to be there to help.  Lucy’s dad assured her he had done nothing but look after his wife since he came to the Bridge, and he was not going to stop now.  And he had ways of ghosting a loved one that we dogs didn’t know anything about. Sometimes humans can even be seen. Lucy took her dad’s hand, and they flew into the sun to help guide and support a mom and wife respectfully.

I knew Lucy would adjust to the Bridge swimmingly.  She still has a human to live with. I hoped they could help her mom.  It is hard to be the one left behind.


Hopefully, now that Momma April has two angels working for her full time she will find her way out of the grief to love again.