Karen, my ex, is an animal lover to the extreme and always has been. She feeds stray cats around the bank she works at and performs volunteer work with animal protection groups. She doesn't just talk it, she walks it as well. She has Luke and Bo, two golden retrievers, and a couple of cats at the house which most of were rescue animals.
I got a phone call from Karen this morning as I was getting up. Luke had gotten worse and could not get up on his own. She wanted to know if I could help Chris get Luke into the truck to take him down to the vet. I could hear the pain in her voice and was deeply saddened by the situation. I know just how much she and Chris love that dog. I knew it was time to let Luke get some rest and how that was going to leave a big hole in their hearts.
I drove over to lend a hand and offer up support for a difficult event. I have to admit, I was choked up on the drive over thinking about how the house was not going to be the same with Luke not there anymore. It also brought back some painful memories of my last pet, Sugar. See, Sugar was a dog Karen rescued from the pound when we were married. I initially asked her to find a home for it. But after being there for a couple of days, I was upset the day I came home and asked where Sugar was when she did not meet me at the door, as she did everyday. Karen had given her to a neighbor down the road like I asked, and was flabbergasted when I told her she would have to go get MY dog back!!!!!
We lost Sugar due to an accident some time later and I was totally grief stricken, just like Karen and Chris today. It's hard to lose a loved one, be they human or animal, they are part of your life. I hope Luke is up in Heaven running around and being carefree, smelling all the flowers and rolling around in the grass having a good time. I hope he and Sugar are playing together. I hope someday we all can be reunited.
