Saying Goodbye

This post was inspired by Neil Gaiman’s recent post about the loss of his dog Cabal.  I’ve seen some wonderful farewell letters on the Internet that illustrate the bond between person and dog.  Here are three that really struck a chord with me:

Cabal

He was the best dog in the universe and I’m going to miss him so much.

Janet

I just can’t leave her now, please understand. If I go away again, I’m afraid she’ll die and I won’t have the honor of singing her to sleep, of escorting her out.

Spencer T. Jones

I have lost friends, I have lost family members. I have never in my life felt the keening grief I felt over losing my dog.

Of course, there’s Rudyard Kipling, who penned one of the most famous odes to losing a dog in the English speaking world.

Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

It’s funny when we say we ‘lost’ someone who has died.  I think it points to the fact that, no matter whether we believe in an afterlife or not, we don’t really know where they’ve gone.  It seems impossible that someone who has interacted with you so intimately could be poofed out of existence with the silence of a heartbeat.

Still thinking of you, Shassi.