The loss of a furry family member is a loss that is peculiar. It never makes sense, nearly in every situation unless they older; even then you still wish you had more time with them.
Our furry friends are really guides, as I have recently discovered. They are only ours for a short time and in many cases they chose us as we also chose them. It becomes an unspoken "17 minutes of uninterrupted eye contact per day" contract. An equal but non-monetary contract- "I will love you-my new hooman and your brood unconditionally... you hooman, will feed me noms and yummy snacks, take me on car rides and walks. I will show you the world through my eyes, if you have eyes to see."
That is why showering our Princess with our gratitude for all that she did for myself and my children was SO important. It is why my children expressing their gratitude to her was also important. We love her, even still and always will.
There is no time frame in which healing takes place from the loss of your fur baby. There is only time, and time is not linear. Which is why after praying on it diligently, when I received a phone call from the same people that gave us Princess, I said yes to a tiny fur baby that was in need of being the only dog fur baby in a home.
She and the rest of her siblings (9 total) are 6 weeks old, but her brothers and sisters always hogged the food. She is the runt of the litter, and is so very tiny. Having been raised with horses and puppies my whole life gave me a set of skills that are helpful in times like these. So I said yes.
Miss Magnolia Wright or Mags for short and I had a a great adventure coming home last night. Halfway through the 3.5 hour drive home I had to pull off I-95 because she wanted to have playtime. So we played under the cover of a BP Gas station in my SUV. I put down the back seats so she could run around and chase a microfiber towel that is now her very own "woobie" or "softee" like my own children had as babies. She waved her paw up and down when she saw other people that she wanted to say hello to, and when they came over to see what this little furry thing was she would hide under my arm until she was given confirmation that it was okay to say hello.
I remember my Princess being a tiny little thing when we got her as well. She went everywhere that I did, in her very own tote bag that had her special things in it. It should not be a surprise that this little girl would get the same treatment. She loves car rides and Christmas music and me singing along to them. She REALLY loves going into the bank. I think that was her first big trip out and she got to say hello to everyone, gifting them with her love. There was one bank teller that saw her and came over and asked if she could hold her. "Of course!" as I handed Miss Mags over to her. She held her lovingly and smelled her head and her paws. The young bank teller told me that she recently had lost her own furbaby when it was hit by a car, after he had gotten out of the yard. For a few moments, my Magnolia gave this young woman the gift comfort. She nuzzled her face and gave her a lick before wanting to come back to me.
I had previously discussed with my sons their thoughts on getting a new dog, even before our Princess became so ill. They wanted to get one so she had a playmate. God had different plans, I suppose. They do not know that I have Mags, and I am working on getting her used to our home... yet. She is so tiny that she gets lost walking around the couch and loses sight of me. The two other fur babies who are both cats, are curious but not curious enough to play with her yet.
After our long drive home last night, and showing her where her own water bowl and food dish would be, where her puppy pads were since she cannot go out on the grass yet since she's not had any shots (yet), we were both exhausted. She fell asleep on the blanket next to the couch where I slept last night. Around 6:30am, a whimper woke me up asking to be brought up to snuggle with me. And so we did, sleeping through til 9:30am. Excuse my morning mascara, I was so tired I didn't even wash my face.
Exu
And so this is a new beginning for Miss Magnolia aka Maggs aka Maggie, and a helpful healing step for me. My Princess will always be my Princess. She is eternally irreplaceable. Maggs and I have had more than 17 minutes of uninterrupted eye contact today while we discussed the house rules.
For now all she needs to know is that she is safe here, loved, and we have the noms and good treats. In a week I will take her to the vet for her shots, for now after a good look at her, he says she is perfect, healthy and will probably end up weighing anywhere from 60-90 lbs.
