We went with friends to see the movie "Marley and me" over the weekend. There were parts that were hysterically funny (particularly because we too had a challenging dog as our first--the much loved Bentley the bearded collie) and there were parts, mainly at the end, that were sobbingly sad. I don't think that I've ever been to a movie where at the end I could hear soft sniffles from what seemed like every row of seats!
That started me thinking about animals passing on. Our oldest dog, Dixie, just turned 10 on Christmas Eve, so she's getting along in years. Although being an Aussie, she probably seems full of energy to anyone who doesn't see her every day like we do. I started thinking about Dude and Bestie too after seeing the movie. Dude will turn 16 at the end of the month, which astounds me ... where did the time go?? We got him when he was eight. That will be a tough one to handle. My childhood horse had to be put down due to medical problems and I remember crying and crying. I once read an essay by Vermont author Chris Bohjalian about watching a mom watch her daughter as the vet put down the daughter's horse. I'm sure that mom was thinking about all the parts of her daughter's growing up that were shared with that horse. I cried reading the essay then and I'm getting teary remembering it now! Animals are loyally with us through so many of life's moments that it is hard to let them go.
2 comments:
Good thoughts. I think growing up on a ranch or farm exposes us to more of this "real life" stuff and maybe prepares us better (?) I have a cat that's 17 now, still doing well, but who knows? Pets become your children, so it's hard to let them go.
Heidi
author, Cowgirl Dreams
www.heidimthomas.com
Could be true. My grandfather had a ranch operation and he definitely had a much more work-focused/less emotional attitude toward the horses. Kind treatment but no coddling. I always laugh remembering how nonplussed he was when he saw all our horsey accessories ... blankets, sparkle bell boots etc. He might've disowned us if he knew about the strawberry scented muzzle gel for showing :)
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