A little more than two months ago, I wrote about the struggles of Cookie, my eight year old Cocker Spaniel. The article was entitled “When is it Time?” I received a lot of positive encouragement from a lot of people, from around the world.
Well, now it is time.
Cookie has been doing pretty well these past two months. Just a few seizures and no episodes of losing control or focus. The meds were doing their job and she was enjoying life with me, Rufus and our cats.
We can never know how an illness with play out and when, or even if, it will reach out and bring the end all that much closer. That is just the nature of life, and death.
Cookie had two severe seizures this past Friday, about eighteen hours apart. She had another on Saturday afternoon. This one, however, was accompanied with blood being spit up and a prolonged period of violent shaking, followed by a lengthy episode of disorientation and a little aggressiveness.
Well, now it is time.
It is never easy to let go of a beloved pet, especially when they are so loving to their master and so happy the majority of the time. You have never truly known the love of a pet until you open your eyes in the morning and have a Cocker Spaniel lick your nose in anticipation of a new day. It is heartbreaking to let go – even if you know it is the right thing to do.
But, now it is time.
The cynics say that our pets have no souls. They are wrong. To this day, I still feel the presence of Maxwell, Duke and Rocky as they watch over me. And I know, that along with the two Little Grey Guys we lost recently, they will be waiting for me one day.
One day, on the other side of that Rainbow Bridge.
Today, Cookie will join them on the other side. Along with them, she will wait for me to join her, where all of our pets are whole and happy once more, where we can play in fields of green in the bright sunshine.
One day, on the other side of that Rainbow Bridge.
Today, it is time.
William Stephenson Clark
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 