This is such a personal story for me to post and yet, because I guide and help others through difficult circumstances, I need to follow my own advice by releasing my grief, by surrendering to it. Grief can be a path to peace and healing if we let it.
Pets have always been extremely important to me. I grew up on a farm and always had such a resonance with animals and they, in turn, trust me. I have pictures taken of me as an infant in a cradle with new puppies. And those pictures never stopped all my life. In fact, when I was young I hoped I could be a vet or a vet assistant but quickly knew that would be impossible. I get overly sad about animals who are sick, injured, lost or abandoned.
On Friday, September 3rd, 2010 we let our beautiful four-legged friend go. Her name was Sharae and she was not quite 7 years old. She was bouncy and fun and affectionate and smart and we loved her so much. We would carry on conversations with her as if she could respond.
Two years ago she ruptured a disc in her neck and after many attempts at different “natural” healing, we agreed to surgery. Well now just two years later, the same scenario played out only this time we couldn’t let her go through such an ordeal again.
Some people may think, “well she is just a dog” but she was so much more than that. Now that our children have grown up we spent our time with her and she made us laugh every single day. She was always excited to see us return home ~ unconditional love at its deepest. We always had stories about her to share with our friends who are also pet lovers.
We see her everywhere and yet of course, we don’t. Grief is grief. There are various grades of grief and various ways it affects us. We know we need to surrender to this and with each day, more clarity and peace will come.
Crying and reliving the special memories are part of the healing process. Someone said to me “keep busy” but that won’t allow me to ‘feel’ this pain and in order to heal from it, I need to feel it, process it, and release it with gratitude.
So for any of you that are finding yourself in grief, for whatever reason, know that each day starts by putting one foot in front of the other, breathe and let yourself feel.
My belief is that we all have a journey on earth and that includes our family members that are pets. When Sharae was barely seven months old, I went to someone who channels messages. She said “do you have a new puppy?” and I responded “Yes”! and she said “she is an angel” and barely three weeks later my brother died and Sharae helped us through that tremendous grief. And now I guess it is her time to move on ……..
