Our Beloved Pets

When I was young, we had a dog named King. He was a long-haired German Shepard. He was a gentle and faithful dog. He was not a barker nor did he run after cars or people. We were eight children at the time and maybe some were more attached to King than others. I saw him as our best dog, petted him and loved him. He loved to chase after porcupines and boy, did he use to pay for that. At first we would take him to the vet until the vet showed us how to remove those painful quills. Then we started to do it ourselves, laughing and caressing him at the same time. Silly dog. One day, someone poisoned him and we were very sad. We don't know why, it didn't matter, what mattered was that he was gone. I think I decided then that I would never attach myself to another dog again. It was too painful.

Then I met my Una, a little German Shephard puppy that my honey gave me when we were dating. I loved her the moment I saw her. That summer I went home for a little while that turned into a longer while. During this time, little Una died of distemper. Again I was saddened. No more dogs...

Many years have passed and El Grito came into our lives. Oh, that El Grito! He was a character. A little Chihuahua. At first I kept him at bay, but he won me over with his pleading little eyes :-). When we said "Boom!" he would lay down and roll over, playing like he was "dead." One day he got out and was killed by a neighbor's bigger dog. I had never been so sad about a little dog in my life. My heart broke.

I think they say when we pass on, our pets will be there waiting for us also. I don't know if this is true, but it's good to think it may be.

My mija's dogs were taken not too long ago and I know she hurts. I wish I could tell her that this, too, will pass, but the love you feel for these beloved pets never fades. You remember them always. It's like your life is made of different compartments that you pull out to look at. There are mementos of that time, happy and sad. You laugh and you cry of the memories left behind. We see the future compartments and wonder with anticipation of what memories will be stored in there and it brings a smile to our faces because we know happy times will once again occupy these spaces. But we won't forget our pets. They live in our hearts and in our memories. It will be ok, mija, it will be ok.