A Compliment To Ms. Doogie

She is my friend. I want her to live forever and it seems that she will; so indomitable is her spirit. When she was a baby, she was very ill. I nursed her along and all the while she had a ready smile and a happy heart. At the age of 1-1/2 years she had an accident that left her pelvis broken in six places. It was suggested that I let her "pass on." However, her love for me and mine for her would not allow it. And after several weeks of tears and hope, pain and prayers, and a trip to the orthopedic vets, she regained the use of her legs. Today you'd never know she was injured. She has a fierce drive to thrive, if for nothing else, to live so she can continue to be at my side, through all the good and bad, the years and circumstances toss at us. Her devotion and loyalty to me are unwavering.

I've learned more about the human condition through my relationship with her, than with any other thing I've ever encountered. Her life force and her heart are like beacons. And the light she radiates unveils the best and the worst attributes of my humanity. She helps me rise above my baser self; enriching my life as I strive to be more like the loving being her spirit exemplifies.

I can’t accept that my eyes may never see her, that my ears may not hear her, that my hands couldn't gently touch her. Or, that my arms couldn’t lift her up so that I can nuzzle her ear and tell her how deeply I love her. I cannot reconcile these things for she is there, in my mind all the time, residing in my heart, warming my spirit, and touching my soul. She is so much a presence within me that surely she will never be absent from my tactile world. Can it be I will never hear her sigh, or hear her breath in sleep? Or look into her eyes, always brimming with love for me? The soft shuffle of her feet at my side as we walk -- gone someday? The bright and happy little girl who loved me beyond any human capacity to do the same. She is my family, companion, and friend.

I want so to see her ever-wagging tail, her brown loving eyes ever waiting for the queue to check out things for my safety…forever.

Written by Mark Crider Copyrighted 2005

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Midi playing ~ Can't Stop Myself From Loving You ~