In loving memory of those who go before us

[HowietheGreat]

This was e-mailed to me today and thought it might bring comfort to some of you who have recently had a fuzzy friend cross the bridge.

A vet had been called to examine a 10 yr old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owner, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker and were hoping for a miracle. The vet examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. The vet told the family there were no miracles left for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure in their home. As arrangements were made, Ron and Lisa thought it would be good for Shane to be present, as he might learn something from the experience. The next day, the vet felt that familiar catch in his throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed very calm, petting his friend for the last time, that the vet wondered if he fully understood what was happening. Within a few moments, Belker slipped peacefully away. Shane seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. The vet and the family sat together for a while after Belker's death wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, they all turned to him. What came next out of his mouth stunned everyone and the vet had never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so they can learn how to live a good life-like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The 4 yr old continued, "Well animals already know how to do that so they don't have to stay as long."

[fourbwabbys]

I've heard that before, I get chills everytime I read it.

[OctoberSky]

Chills definitely. And a tear in the eye.

[OctoberSky]

I sould have added this to my previous post: When my cousin Sarah died in a car accident at age 19, 2 months ago, we were uncertain on how to explain it to the young ones in the family, why Sarah wasn't here anymore. We tried our best to make them understand and when we were through explaining, Teisha (8 years old, who was very close to Sarah) Was very calm and told us that Sarah wasn't gone but that she was an angel now and that she was watching all of us. It's amazing how kids put things into perspective. Sometimes I think us adults could really learn from them. Wow that still makes me cry.

[muffin]

Oh why am I reading this, everything makes me cry on this section. But what Shane said makes so much sense.