A Living Love Tissue s Needed

[Ickle]

> A Living Love
>
> If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will
> always remember....
>
> The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your
> young new friend.
> You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked
> numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a
> breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen
> that silly looking mutt in a shelter--simply because something in its
> eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen pet home, and
> watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front
> room--and when you feel it brush against you for the first time--it
> instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the
> many years to come.
>
> The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later.
> It will be a day like any other.
> Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will
> look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth. You
> will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will
> see sleep when you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your
> friend's diet--and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may
> feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming
> emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until
> the third day finally arrives.
>
> And on this day--if your friend and God have not decided for you, then
> you will be faced with making a decision of your own--on behalf of
> your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest
> Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you--you will
> feel as alone as a single star in the dark night.
>
> If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as
> they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your
> circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or
> comfort you.
>
> But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the
> many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul--a bit smaller in size
> than your own--seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely
> days to come.
>
> And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to
> happen, you may feel something brush against your leg--very very
> lightly.
>
> And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend
> used to lay--you will remember those three significant days. The
> memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your
> heart--As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of
> its own.
> You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you
> reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you.
> Either way, it will still be an ache.
>
> But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when--along with the
> memory of your pet--and piercing through the heaviness in your
> heart--there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will
> be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have
> loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living
> Love--like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals
> have wilted, this Love will remain and grow--and be there for us to
> remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave
> us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we
> live. It is a Love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave,
> perhaps to join our Beloved Pets--it is a Love we will always possess.
>
> (by Martin Scot Kosins)

Sent through the international sheltie list
Ickle

[mouseatthebusstop]

very touching I thought about Alice and Poppy when I read it. Sadly the second one was missing with Alice :cry: :( :cry: :( :(

[imported_Kat]

Real tear jerker :(

[BuddysMom]

Oh, this was perfect. Having gone through the 'third day' and 'fourth day' over the last 6 weeks, and eagerly anticipating a 'first day' tomorrow, this really hits the spot. I'm typing through a cloud of bittersweet tears. Thanks.