He was already an old man when his wife of 56 years died. At that time, he was 76 and she was 71.
Unseen tears flowed heavily and regularly, in private. In public he was stoic. Agony, like torture, should not be shared.
Their dog was old, too, an incredible 16 years, and loved by both since being a puppy. The dog slept at her side, in bed, and near her pillow.
His bed was no longer warm, a haven of love, comfort, and pride. He let the dog sleep on his wife’s side of the bed. Her smell, her essence must still be there, though, after a year, he didn’t smell it any longer. He wished he had the dog’s strong sense of smell because she always smelled good, fresh unless she was sick.
He smiled at their life together and how they loved their child and family dog. At retirement, their dog was loved as if it were a child. They gave comfort, and pleasure, and eased the loneliness of their ‘empty nest.’ The dog spent most of its time with her since she was mostly active with work done in the house while the old man was often busy with the outdoor maintenance of the house, the car, errands to run, and hobbies.
When his active day ended, he would settle down in his recliner, next to her. The dog would then come to him, jump on his lap, lick his cheek, and receive kissy noises. He always gave the dog three taps on the ribs as a sign of his love.
Love of the dog was truly shared and was often the topic of caring discussions, including the best nutrition, and receiving the best care from their veterinarian.
Now that the queen of the house was sadly gone, the king of the house had grown more and more important to him as a living, loving
and caring memory of his staunch ally, the woman who was always by his side in the plentiful joyous moments and in the rare unjoyful moments.
Two years later, the dog died. The old man decided that it was the best thing for him, too. He let go of his life and died in his sleep. He was buried beside his treasured wife with the dog buried between them. It was as if the grave plots were their bed, in which their dog slept between them.
Their child inherited an intense love of dogs. Throughout her life and her own children’s lives, they raised puppies, sometimes puppies, and loved them as long as they could.
One of their grown children, with a flowery name, became a veterinarian’s assistant and cared for all dogs brought to her. Sometimes, she would hear the whisper of buried voices telling her how proud they were of her.
Her brother also grew to love dogs, to hug them, make kissy sounds to them, and play with them even though he had a mild allergy to them. The allergy didn’t stop him. His love for a special dog was too great and they brought out happy memories of his grandparents.
Comments