Heidi

I pick up the frayed and worn childhood book.

It was one of my favorites about a beagle searching for

a place to call home.

I am now grown but when it is time for my husband Mark and

I to choose a dog to join our lives my first thought is of a beagle.

Mark is hesitant but gives me the go ahead.

I search the paper and the pound relentlessly. We have decided

that we would like to adopt an older pet that would fit into

our busy lifestyle better. Plus our hearts are tender toward

the animals that don’t have homes.

The day is finally here. The paper reads a female beagle,

two years old to give away. I make the call and arrange to visit you.

You are a happy dog greeting me effusively.

You’re in a home with small children and you seem very happy

but your owners say that you like to wander and they don’t

like to keep you tied up. I agree readily to give you a home.

You are confused I’m taking you away from the family you know

but you are excited to go for a drive.

I spend the first night in the guest room with you comforting you

because you don’t understand why I’m not taking

you to your home. Your whining and confusion gradually

lessen and you fall asleep.

You spend three years with us in that home ingraining yourself

into our lives. Gradually we figure out your idiosyncrasies

and you figure out ours.

We become wiser and you are eager to please.

Lessons learned:

1. Always put the garbage up when leaving the house.

2. Don’t leave chocolate within reach

3. If lost stop and listen for human activity and there you will be

found eagerly lapping up the attention.

Children were some of your favorite friends and you were one of theirs.

When you were missing we simply sent out the kid calvary

manning their bikes and they would find you in no time.

You were hard to keep track of sometimes because your nose would

get you into trouble or you would hear something exciting

happening in the neighborhood that you had to check out.

When we moved into town you had a fenced yard which

you handled well. As long as we were near you were happy.

Our bond deepened and you were becoming an integral

part of our lives. Without children of our own you helped fill

the gap and filled many of our days with love and laughter.

Your saddest times were being left alone in the basement when

we had to work. Your howls could be heard from the driveway,

but oh the happiness when we came home and released you

from your solitude. There were howls of joy licks and kisses

toys to play with and lots of tail wagging.

We’ve moved from town now to a country place with lots of

land to explore. We had a serious talk when we moved about

what to do with you. Should we keep you tied up always safe

but bored? You had a serious sense of adventure and we

couldn’t bear to stifle that. We made a conscious decision

to let you have your freedom. We were at the end of a dirt road

and the area seemed safe enough. You loved it.

Each morning you would ask excitedly to go out so that you

could make your circuit. Over the creek to the neighbor Labradors

and their friendly owners down the lane to visit Jack or Boomer.

Chasing gophers and sometimes catching them

much to your own surprise.

You were in heaven and as your years started adding up

your circuit became smaller and you stayed closer to home

content not to roam so much.

Seeing you running up the driveway at the end of the day to

greet us could make any bad day seem brighter.

Even though you were getting older and people would

comment on the “old beagle” despite your gray muzzle

there were days when you acted like a pup.

Playing with your toys tossing them in the air sometimes you

didn’t even need us to play with you you were the entertainment

and we were to watch. Oh how you loved your toys and you

took such good and loving care of them.

You had stuffed animals that a normal dog would have destroyed

in two minutes that you kept for years. Tossing them in

the air playing catch but always careful not to chew them up

giving them baths and picking special ones to play with each

day depending on your mood.

You were a marvel. When toys were put away in the stool

and you decided it was playtime you taught yourself to open the

lid with your nose fish around inside until you found the one

that was your favorite for the day and bring it out.

Many of our friends were amazed when they saw you do this.

I always thought I should tape you doing it and send it in to

Amazing Videos but it never happened and now you

will never do it again.

Yesterday we buried you with your favorite toys in a hole that

your Dad dug lovingly on the land that you loved in the country.

I miss your velvety ears your soulful eyes that read my every

emotion your jumping on the bed in the morning to greet me.

Those will never be mine again but they stay in my heart and

someday the memory of them will not be so painful.

I will view them with joy again.

You met a violent end a car on the highway (I’ll never

understand why you were so far away from home never going

there before that I know of).

I thank God that you were killed instantly.

I thank God that we found you and were able to bring you

home where you belong.

That was such a strange day. We passed you beside the road on

the way home and I didn’t recognize you.

I just remember thinking “Oh the poor dog and the people

who will miss him”. God was protecting me.

If I had found you then without any preparation I would

have been hysterical.

Your collar was gone or we would have known it was

you by the color. We thought it was strange that you weren’t

here to greet us when we came home.

It was a beautiful day and we thought you might be exploring.

We went about our work looking expectantly for you.

We even talked again about our decision to give you your freedom

and how if something should happen to you we would know

that you had died happy because of the last few years.

You loved this place in the country.

Sitting in the yard watching over your homestead

protecting your family.

You became much more vocal when we moved out here

alerting us to any changes you felt important.

As dinnertime came and went we became more concerned,

knowing how you love your food. I went for a bike ride looking

for you comforted by the fact that you had your collar on with

the identification tag on. People would call if you had lost your

way I reasoned. At last with a sense of dread

I mentioned that maybe we should look at the dog on the

highway one more time just to be sure but I knew it

couldn’t be my Heidi. I was horribly wrong.

It was you and this time when your Dad picked you up I

couldn’t understand how I hadn’t recognized you before.

It was my girl and you were gone. Disbelief pain and horror

clouded my mind. We brought you home dug a grave and

laid you in it praying that heaven has a special place for

our beloved furry friends.

Seeing you bouncing there in those heavenly fields with your ears

flapping in the wind and your tail wagging furiously.

Surely God would not let us feel such feelings for those

who he would separate us from eternally.

I have to believe that I will see you again and you will bark

and howl in greeting just as you did here on earth

bringing joy to my heart.

Take care Heidi

I love you and you will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thank you for bringing such happiness to a couple

who cared about you so very much.

Good-bye girl

 

Heidi