Pups of the week: Ruger and Pintus

Ruger

The handsome German Shepherd regally ascended on the escalator towards the spot at the edge of the cliff where I would give him the oath.  When he reached me he gave me a kiss on the head.  I began reading the oath.  Then I heard the sound of eight paws pounding the ground, quickly headed towards me.  I spoke faster, then even faster.  I had to get done before the big bodies attached to those paws arrived.

I got done and slipped away as the three German Shepherds collided with a roar that shook the mountains.  They wrapped their legs around one another and danced in a circle.  The clouds of sad tears caused by our newest member’s passing mixed with the Shepherds’ tears of joy.  Then the three boys turned, finally reunited, and ignoring everyone else, charged into the hills to run.

Ruger had joined his brothers Daddy and Taser at Rainbow Bridge.  The Shepherd brothers were together again.  As they disappeared up the hills, we could still hear their paws, and their hearts, pounding.  Their joy even touched my cynical little Yorkie heart.

But with joy comes great sorrow.  I could hear the sobbing on the mortal side.  While we were lucky to witness the boys reunited their parents could only use their imaginations to see them.  It will be a very long time before the boys and their parents are reunited.  In that time their parents will share love with a herd more of German Shepherds.

It was stage four kidney failure that brought Ruger to us.  His parents took excellent care of him before and after his diagnosis.  They gave him the loving home he had each day of his life, only more so.  But their beautiful boy only had so many heartbeats, and they finally expired.

How we wish their parents could see their three boys frolicking again.  They came running down the hill and then rolled on the ground nipping at one another.  A game of chase began again.  Daddy and Taser used their wings to fly leaving their brother on the cliff.  Ladybug flew over and attached Ruger’s wings, specially made by Scooby to match his brothers.  Ladybug was going to teach him, but Ruger did not have the patience.  He flapped, flapped, flapped his wings and then he took off to the skies and now the three brothers played in the sky, zipping past one another.  They put on a terrific show.  We gave them a long round of applause when they landed.

But they didn’t hear us.  The three of them were curled in a perfect ball around each other, sleeping.  Reunited at last.

By morning they would work out a schedule, so one of them was always with their parents, and around their little human’s sisters side.  And when their parents were sleeping, or the boys knew they were safe, they would charge into the hills, and then the skies to play.

Flying German Shepherd brothers are quite the sight to see.

Pintus

While we, and his family, had lots of time to adjust to Ruger’s arrival, Pintus came with little warning.  He had a seizure, and a short time later he passed to the immortal side, in his Mom’s arms, on his bed.

His sister Rain had arrived a short while before.  No mother should lose two children so close together.  Instead of the thundering paws of Daddy and Taser, Rain slowly trotted up to us. She knew how unprepared her mom was for Pintus' passing.  Before I gave Pintus the oath, I let Rain go to him.  They stood on their back legs and hugged for a long time.

Pintus and Rain had always gone together like peas and carrots.  It was hard to think of them separate,  It did all the Angels’ hearts well to see them reunited but we stayed silent respecting their shared sorrow.

Rain took Pintus by the paw and led him to me.  I grabbed his paw too, and I gave him the oath.  He repeated my words.  He seemed as stunned to be with us as his mom was that he was gone.  Rain saw how upset he was and she stayed near him through his wing fitting and his reuniting with the hundreds of dog friends he had here at the Bridge, and the other animals his mom had owned who he had never met.

I could tell that Pintus was anxious to learn how to ghost and dream visit so he could see his mom again but he has always been the sweetest boy.  He knew his friends loved him, and he spent time with each one, making every dog feel like they were his best friend.

When the long line of friends ended Rain announced that she would like to teach her brother how to fly.  Pintus learned very quickly.  Then, before we knew it, they flew together to visit with their mom.  Rain had done this multiple time before, but now she flew with a partner.

Like the German Shepherd brothers, Pintus and Rain have been inseparable.  They don’t play as hard as the boys (I don’t think I have ever seen Angels play that hard) but they do spend a lot of time together sharing memories, laughing, and talking about their favorite subject, their mom.

They have shown me that the River of Life, and the unbridgeable gap of being mortal and immortal cannot extinguish love.  It lives on in the afterlife and is lit a new when parties are reunited.

Every angel is filled with love.  It is majestic when we get to see the love shared with a family member.

Daddy is our November 23, 2014 Pup of the Week

When is it time?  It is a question that has tormented our poor parents for years.  Humans who are in the final stages of their lives linger, they suffer, they lose their dignity, until mercifully they are brought home.  I am sure their loved ones would, at times, want to end their suffering, but they aren’t allowed to do what some call playing God  

Thankfully our parents are allowed to play God when it comes to us, and we love them for it.  It is ironic that the term used to end our suffering is “humane” when humans are not given the privilege of ending the suffering of their loved ones. The term should be “dogmane.”

Our friend Daddy, brother of Taser and Ruger, whose mother is Sue Ann Mohamud, is at the end of his life.  He has a tumor that can’t be operated on and he is at the stage where he has been brought home to be made comfortable.  Unfortunately being comfortable is hard when your body is failing.

Daddy is having trouble standing and walking, and when he has bowel movements they are frequent and often loose.  Because of weakness in his limbs he can’t stand for long and often he gets his movement on his back legs, and being a good dog, he knows he did something bad, and he feels very guilty that his Mom and Dad have to clean him off.

Daddy has always been a very proud dog. To see him losing his dignity and not being able to play with his brothers has been very hard on his parents.  A short time ago he was a vivacious, fun loving German Shepherd Dog and slowly the disease is taking that from him.

But Daddy still has energy.  He eats, he barks at his brothers, he acts like he wants to stay.  And that is what makes it so difficult.  He is suffering, but he still shows sparks of the proud dog his parents adore.

I didn’t give my parents much choice when it was my time.   I could not live outside the oxygen tent.  But when I was inside the tent I was me, bright eyed, tail wagging, ready to go home.  Outside the tent I could not last five seconds, so the decision was easy.  

The question of when is torture for our parents.  They always want one more day but they are also the ones who have to decide when there will be no more days.  How do you make that decision when it’s a soul you love with all your heart?  How do you know you did not rob yourself of one more day?

I am going to let you humans in on a secret.  Us dogs do everything we can to hide our pain and our illnesses from our humans.  When we can no longer hide our pain it has become unbearable.  But we are still going to fight the pain, still try to cover it, because we don’t want to worry you, and we want to stay with you, no matter what we have to endure.

So when is the right time?  There is no right answer.  Just listen to your heart and it will tell you when.  And it will be the right thing.   Because we never want to go but we also want you to let us go, so when you say it’s time, it’s time.  From the day we came into your house we put our lives your hands.  And sadly, in the end, we put our death in your hands.  It’s quite unfair.

We are sorry, it is the hardest thing we have ever asked you to do, but we need you to do it.  So please, be strong for us, and do what needs to be done, not in the name of humanity but dogity.

And we will be grateful to you for eternity.

Ask Aunt Foley

Dear Aunt Foley:  Why did God take away my best friend Ruger and leave me with the annoyance called Maxx, who whines all the time and refuses to play with me? Cocoa Puff

Dear Cocoa:  This is one of the most difficult questions to answer.  Why does God take our best friends?   First, keep in mind that God does not take anyone.  We are all born with a specific number of heartbeats, some of us have numbers that are high, and others, like Ruger have numbers that are way too low.

So God didn’t take away your best friend, Ruger just ran out of time on the mortal side of the River of Life, and he is here, with me, and Tanner, on the immortal side, where Tanner serves as Mayor and Ruger as his assistant, albeit one who can’t help but to get into trouble..

I wish you and Maxx got along better.  I wasn’t much of a player with other dogs when I lived on the mortal side.  I would spend most of my time sitting on Mom’s lap and snapping at any other dog, including Pocket, who tried to come near me.  Reading your letter makes me think that maybe I should have played with Pocket more. Then I think Nah!

When she was living with me I didn’t play so Pocket didn’t play.  Now that she’s living with River, who likes to play, she is just now, after a year, starting to play.  So don’t give up on Maxx yet.  His inner pup may still be emerging.

Until then Tanner, Ruger and I will all come visit you in your dreams and play with you all night long.