Dogs are amazing

This title might seem odd, and it probably is.  

What do dogs have to do with grief? I know I have blogged before about how our animals grieve the loss of our children, of their "boy" or of their "girl". 

I have blogged about how we grieve the loss of our children's pets after the loss of our child. We grieve this because it is usually the last remaining living connection we have with our young children. DJ was only 13 at the time of his death and did not have children of his own as a living connection to him. When his dog passed away years later it sucked, it sucked completely and utterly.  

Today I am reviewing my blogs. I plan to create an online workshop to help those with the loss of their child.  It is taking me a long time to review and organize my blogs from years ago because 1. There are so many of them 2. I want to organize them with a small summary in a ledger sheet to make writing the online workshop sheets easier 3. Reading them to do this summation is exhausting because it brings me back to the moments I am writing about (it stops time).

So why are dogs amazing?  As I was reviewing blogs this morning, they were making me sad.  I wrote my heart and soul into many of the blogs and the pain I was struggling with was raw on the pages.  So much I had forgotten and many of the words were tearing me apart.  My house was quiet this morning and my dog was lying next to me.  She looked up at me with the most beautiful puppy eyes (she is not a puppy but an 8-year-old golden retriever named Georgie-girl) and wouldn't quit looking at me.  I pet her and loved on her and she continued with the look that only a dog can give another human- a look of unconditional love. 

It took me a few seconds to realize that she knew I was sad, she could feel my emotions.  It also took me a few seconds longer to realize that this dog did not know DJ, but she could feel my sadness and grief over him. In a way, she knew DJ for those few minutes. I know this all may sound a little weird to you the reader, it sounds weird to me as I am typing it, but it made me feel better. In a sense, she was offering me comfort for a boy she did not know but for an emotion she could sense.  My sweet dog brought me her favorite toy as well to play with me to make me feel better.

Dogs are amazing, my dog is the bestest dog (as all owners know theirs are as well).

I have no challenge for any of you today.  I just wanted to share that comfort can come years and years later from an unexpected place, person, or even an animal.  

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