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The following is what I wrote, letting friends,
her fans, and family know of her passing.
June 1990 -
May 12, 2008
My Old Friend
There will be silence this evening as I spend the first
night alone without my old friend. Surely Not passed
away this afternoon, peacefully, two week shy of her
18th birthday.
I'll miss her following just a step behind and most
times two steps ahead me. I will miss her being always
interested in what I'm doing, always willing to give me
comfort, never failing to please.
Yesterday she could not get comfortable. She paced back
and forth. Even my lap didn’t give her comfort. I
decided to lay down with her. As I lay with her,
stroking her ears the tears came. Usually when I cry she
will lick my face. This time she looked intensely into
my eyes as if she knew these tears were for her. She
settled down and lay quietly until I stopped.
I thought the hardest part was making the decision. Is
it the right one, am I doing the right thing, and then
watching her every movement searching frantically for
some act of normalcy.
I realize now the hardest part is saying good-bye.
I didn’t leave her alone in a strange place filled with
unfamiliar faces. I made sure the last person she saw
was the person she gave her unconditional love to. I
told her not to wait for me. I told her to go…. To run…
To do her bone dance… That I will be okay. Most
importantly, I will see on the other side. I know when
my time comes she will be the one that will greet me.
I will miss her, my companion – my shadow who had become
a part of my space, my life. It feels so empty now.
It is funny how much she had became a part of me and who
I have been.
She has always been there; under my chair, under the
table and under my feet. She was my little wart with
Andy Rooney’s eyebrows. Others called her rat face, bat
face, grandpa Munster, razor back piglet, alien… but she
was just Surely Not.
In James Herriot's book, Dog Stories, there is a story
called "The Card over the Bed." It is about an elderly,
bedridden lady with five elderly pets. After one passes
on, she asked Mr. Herriot if animals have souls and if
her animals will go with her. His response, “If having a
soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and
gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of
humans. . . And, wherever you are going, they are going
too." Over the lady's bed hung a card that read, 'God is
near." And, at his side sits His Beardie.
Surely – the truth be told I am glad I didn’t get a cat.
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