Saying Goodbye to Buddy

 Some of you have been following my reflections about our dog, Buddy, for the last 13 years.  We adopted Buddy one year before I started writing these weekly columns in 2009.  Thirteen years is a long time to write a column every week.  It is a much longer time in a dog’s life.  Buddy was a young dog when he found us, full of energy and full of confidence.  He thought he could leap any barrier and outrun any rabbit.  Of course, he could do neither.  But that is one of the things that makes Corgis so loveable. They do not know their limits, and don’t care. They will try the impossible.

 Over the years Buddy has taught me many things.  He has taught me patience by being patient, perseverance by never giving up. He taught me the value of friendship and trust by his desire to be with me on walks or ride in my truck, going wherever I go without question or complaint. He has taught me to greet every day with joy and every moment without regret. And he has taught me much more. I have tried to capture some of it in my writing.  Along the way. I wrote Buddy’s story in a children’s book, Buddy the Floppy Ear Corgi.  (Available free as an eBook Feb 1-5 on Amazon).

 We knew he was aging. Our vet said he is in his mid-nineties, in human terms.  Our 2-mile walks became a thing of the past.  He slept a lot.  He fell down the stairs, twice, so, we stopped doing stairs. He could no longer leap into my truck as he did in days gone by.  He suffered from Degenerative Myelopathy, a genetic disease similar to ALS in humans and common to Pembrok Corgis.  He struggled to his feet and did the best he could. We tried to keep him comfortable and continued to love him as he loved us.  Last week we laid Buddy down, gently and tenderly, with tears.

 In the end, Buddy was teaching me another lesson, how to face my own mortality and that of those I love.  As he declined Buddy would join me outside for my early morning devotions, even when the windchill dipped to -4.  I focused on Psalm 90, a Psalm attributed to Moses:

 “We have finished our years with a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain 70 years, or if due to strength 80 years. … So teach us to number our days , that we may present to thee a heart of wisdom. … O satisfy us in the morning with thy lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. … Let thy work appear to thy servants and thy majesty to their children, and let the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us. And do confirm for us the work of our hands  Yes, confirm the work of our hands.”

 Like every living thing, we shall all die.  Like the grass of the fields and the animals of the forest, our bodies will return to dust. But we are unique among all creation.  God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul.  Jesus promised, “I give them eternal life and they will never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of my hand.  My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one  is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29).

 A year ago, I wrote a column about animals in heaven.  It makes sense that God, who created all life of every kind and declared it good, would also include animal life in heaven. It also makes sense that He who takes note of a sparrow that falls in the forest would take note when a pet dies that has given fellowship and friendship to mankind.

 We aren’t given much detail about Heaven, other than the fact that we will be in His presence along with all who love Him, that nothing that is essential to our happiness and joy will be lacking.