Duchess and the Mother's Day Miracle by Foley Monster

 

We pets take Mother’s Day very seriously.  It is a problem for us.  We are devoted to our moms.  We love them with all our hearts, we can’t give more.  So we try to be extra good on Mother’s Day.  Unfortunately, if moms are lucky, they get visitors on, and we are never at our best when there are guests.  So, we try to give the only gift we can, by being there.

    Duchess had been battling cancer for months.  Every morning she woke up, hoping to make it to the end of the day, and by managing heartbeats and ignoring pain, she did.  She rarely looked beyond today, but Duchess did hope to reach Mother’s Day.  It would be impossible for her mom to have a happy day, having just lost Duchess or another part of her pack.

    Duchess took sick in February and was diagnosed with cancer.  Her mom refused to surrender the pup without giving her every opportunity at life.  Her surgery was risky, but she would only have days without it.  Duchess was a survivor and would not listen to the whisperers trying to lure her to the Bridge.  She came through the surgery and began chemotherapy.  

    There was no local clinic where Duchess could receive her chemo treatments.  Her mom had to drive six hours round trip so her pup could have her IV.  She was also given pills.  Duchess didn’t like taking them, but it meant a lot to her mom, and she needed to do it to survive another day.

Every day became harder for Duchess.  Her heartbeats were expiring faster than she wanted, and Duchess had acquired every available one.  Her siblings Sandy and Kramer lent her some, knowing they would not get them back, but Duchess didn’t want to take them anymore because her mom would need them with her for a long time when Duchess passed.

    Three days before Mother’s Day, Duchess was struggling.  Her mom made the hardest decision and freed the pup from pain and misery.   When Duchess crossed the Bridge, she was young and whole again, while her mother inherited her suffering.  

    Duchess was joyous upon crossing, as we all are.  Then, the realization of her fate froze her, as she understood that she had not made it to Mother’s Day.  She immediately became depressed.  She stayed at the bottom of the steps, refusing to climb to our village and be sworn in as an angel.  I went down and shared an important secret with her.  

    In the wee hours of Mother’s Day morning, when our moms are deep asleep, their favorite angel appears and brings them for a dream visit at Rainbow Bridge.  It is our chance to honor them on their day.  There is excellent food, mimosas, and most of all, videos of all of the memories of special times between angels and moms.  They can be witnessed on the back of the angel cereal boxes.

    Because we are at the Bridge, we can verbalize how much we love and miss them.  There are many tears, but unlike the ones that fall from clouds when a pup passes, these are joyful ones. 

    This year’s party was another smashing success.  Everyone loved seeing their mom again, and Duchess did the most because she could say goodbye correctly and thank her mom for all she did.  The feeling was more than reciprocated. 

    Sadly, the party is wiped away from our mom’s minds as soon as they wake up, but their heart remembers and is a little lighter for the rest of the day.

    One day, at the end of their mortal life, they will remember all of it and ease the sorrow of dying with the promise of never-ending life.