Last fall, my very dear friend Sue lost her beloved dog Butch. Since then, she has been navigating her way through the grieving process . . . dealing with each wave of sadness as it rolled in . . . and trying to find a way to get used to life without her precious dog by her side.
About a month ago, she started talking about her growing desire to adopt another dog. She was back and forth, over whether it was the right time and after spending hours pouring over dog rescue sites and shelter sites, she was also concerned that she wouldn't know which dog was the right one, even if it was the right time. I told her I was sure she would "know" when the right dog came along and suggested she keep an eye out for "signs" that would point her in the right direction.
Last weekend, I got on the computer and found an email from another client of mine. She had recently started volunteering for an animal rescue organization and they were putting the word out that they had six three-month old puppies whom they were looking for homes for. When I looked at the pictures, I saw the puppies were black lab mixes, and I immediately thought of Sue because Butch was a black lab mix. I thought maybe it was a "sign" and then after scrolling down to read the rest of the email, I saw the name of the person you needed to submit your application to . . . and it just happened to be Lucky's former dog sitter. The hair stood up on my arms and I decided to forward the email to Sue.
Sue decided it was a "sign," filled out the application and submitted it the next morning. Twenty four hours later, after being contacted by the rescue group, she was off to meet two of the remaining available puppies and about an hour after that, she was on her way home with a new puppy . . . she named him Mingus, after one of her favorite jazz musicians, Charles Mingus.
I went over the next night to meet her new little friend and the joy he brought with him to her house was absolutely contagious. We couldn't stop smiling the whole evening. Since he is being treated for worms right now, his tummy was really unhappy, so I gave him a little reiki treatment. Sue and I were shocked to see that he immediately slipped into a little trance, just the way Butch used to. We were both overcome with the feeling that this was meant to be.
Sue was still in a bit of a quandary though . . . several of her friends had suggested she get two dogs, so they could play with one another and not be lonely when she was at work. While she thought it was a good idea in some ways, she wasn't sure she was ready for TWO dogs, especially since she hadn't slept much since Mingus had arrived. She was going back and forth over her options, weighing the pros and cons, etc. The one puppy from Mingus' litter that remained was a boy and he was really skittish. She had been thinking about getting one boy and one girl, but all the girls in his litter had already been spoken for. Once again, I suggested that she trust the Universe. I told her I believed that if it was meant to be, it would come together easily, that she wouldn't have to work so hard to figure out what to do.
The next morning, the rescue group called her back and told her the adoption of one of the girl puppies had fallen through and they wanted to know if she would like to adopt her too. Sue took it as the "sign" we were talking about the night before and later that night, she was the proud mom of yet another puppy. She named her Nina, after another of her favorite jazz musicians, Nina Simone.
Nina and Mingus were thrilled to be united (after an initial bout of confusion) and have been playing non-stop with each other since Nina's arrival. I went over there this weekend to meet Nina and get another puppy-fix. There's nothing like a puppy to make you smile from your toes all the way to the top of your head and when you multiply that by two . . . well . . . Sue and I couldn't stop smiling. Even though Sue has only had a minimal amount of sleep in the last week, she hasn't been this happy since Butch passed away. As her friend, I have to say, it was really nice to see her so happy again.
Before I left, Sue asked me a question that touched me deeply . . . she asked me if I would be Mingus and Nina's god mother. It was a huge honor to be asked and of course, I said "Yes?" So, now I have two darling little god-children. I look forward to looking out for them over the years and providing whatever love and guidance they may need along the way.
