A Mother and Child Reunion

 

 It was nearly five years ago when my mom got a text from Miss Laura stating that she was afraid her heart dog Pokey didn’t have long left and would need emotional support when he departed. My mom said, of course, she would be there.

We had the privilege of meeting Pokey and Miss Laura in their inviting home two years before. She, Pokey, Maggie, and Toby were the only online friends I had ever met in person. By the time Miss Laura asked for help, I was already at the Bridge. Still counting Pokey as one of my best friends, I flew down as a ghost to see him.

I asked Pokey if he was ready for the Bridge, and he insisted he could manage the pain and tiredness he was experiencing. “I can’t leave now,” he whispered, “my mom couldn’t survive. He assured me he would be fine.

Then, we had no idea that Miss Laura would tragically go to the Bridge within a few years, leaving her three dogs behind. I flew down to comfort my grieving friend, who had lost his reason to fight off his ailments and stay on the mortal side. I asked him if he wanted to follow his mother into the dark, and he said he couldn’t. He had to start behind to help his siblings Toby and Maggie adjust to the new normal.

When Miss Laura’s good friend Miss Kate said she would take the dogs, everyone was relieved. Miss Kate had spent time with the dogs when she was in Boston for business and had recently lost her heart dog, Shiloh. We know there was no one better to take the three orphans than her.

When the three, thanks to the cooperation of great friends, traveled across the country to Arizona, they knew that they were in the best possible hands. When Miss Laura told me she was missing her sweet babies, I flew down to retrieve Pokey, but he told me Miss Kate, who he now called Mom, had been so good to the pack he could not leave her, so they decided Toby would go instead.

When Pokey got to Arizona, the air and warmth seemed to awaken the puppy inside him. He could run so long he would wear out his parents. Despite his grizzled appearance, he looked like a dog who was a decade younger. But inside him, the same ailments were slowly breaking down his will to stay.


As Pokey began to slow, Miss Kate saw signs of a dog who was no longer enjoying his life. Pokey had been fighting off the dark angels who wanted to claim him for the Bridge for so long that they had abandoned their mission. I visited my friend and asked if he was ready to cross over, but he said he should give Miss Kate a few more years. I knew he didn’t have it in him. Shiloh went to tell his mom what she already knew. It was time for Pokey to join his first mom.


When Pokey learned of his fate, he accepted it. He was happy to be with his first mom if he wasn’t abandoning his new one. Pokey was brought to the vet, given a shot, and it was bye-bye Arizona; he was airborne.

Approximately 87,000 angels were awaiting Pokey’s arrival but none more important than his mom. She gasped when she first saw him running across the Bridge like a puppy; he ran up the steps and jumped into her arms. Then they held each other and cried, releasing all the pain they had accumulated from missing one another. It was by far the best reunion ever.

I knew Pokey, and his mom needed some time together, so I arranged for them to visit happily ever after for a week. That is where souls go when there is no one left to watch over or worry about on the mortal side. It is peacefully quiet, and the air is filled with love. It is the most lovely place in the multi-verse.

I knew they couldn’t stay for long. They had Miss Kate and Maggie to watch over and thousands of homeless dogs without a family. Miss Laura gave her home to dogs who came to the Bridge without a family. I don’t know how many she’s caring for now, but she got a powerful ally in Pokey.

Before they left for Happily Ever After, Laura and Pokey shot a bright star into the sky. It is just over the Westin Horizon and was sent as a thank you to Miss Kate for becoming the mom to three dogs who lost their mom, a wonderful home, and taking better care of them than anyone could besides their mom.

We hope she can see it when she goes outside, and she knows how much her angels love her and thank her for being a second mom. By accepting the dogs, she gave them a great gift and when she let Pokey go, she gave him an even greater one.

As for now, we are basking in a mother and child reunion.