Junior, the Prodigal Son, Comes Home to the Bridge

I first met Luca, Junior, and their guardian Angel Fred in 2008. I don’t know if life was simpler, but it sure feels like it. 

 

They were from Argentina. It was fantastic to learn about life in another country, especially with opposing seasons. Everyone loved these fun, intelligent, and handsome dogs and looked forward to barking at them daily. 

 

One day Mama Maria posted that she would not be as active on social media because the government monitored what citizens posted. At that time, a government caring about what their people commented on seemed foreign. As I said, it was a simpler time. 

 

The most contact I had with them were infrequent Facebook posts, which is like throwing a stick in a fast-moving river and hoping all your friends see it. More often than not, it gets lost in the tide. 

 

Luca joined us in 2016. Junior stayed to care for his mom and help his sister dogs become accustomed to how their mom wanted things. Junior stretched his life to 14 years, quite an achievement considering his breed. But this week, his heartbeats expired, and he went to the Bridge, lessening the dogs remaining from our original dog social network group by one. 

 

His mom knew her best friend, who helped guide her through the loss of a husband, a dog, the pandemic age, and many other tragedies that plague the days of our lives; had his quality of life fallen to an unacceptable level for Luca. His mom helped him to the Bridge, taking on all his pain and suffering to set him free. It is the kindest and bravest act a parent can perform for their baby. 

 

What made the reunion between Luca and Junior sweeter than most was that Luca was Junior’s birth dad, and, unlike most pups, Junior got to grow up with his father. They were more like brothers and best friends than son and father, but something about sharing the same blood makes a bond sweeter. When Junior crossed the Bridge, Luca greeted him with the words all off children want to hear: You made me proud. Then they began playing like they were young again—another gift from the Bridge. 

 

Then Junior met all the dogs he had lost contact with: Tommy, Hattie, Leo, Hobo, Lily, etc. They had a welcoming party worthy of a returning prodigal son.  

 

Junior left his mom in the capable paws of his sisters, but the recovery will be hard. Once she is recovered, her three angels will tackle a more challenging task: Making sure all dogs have the freedom to bark no matter what country they reside in because friends should never have to wait until their Bridge day to catch up with beloved companions.