As pet owners, and volunteers for Great Plains Pointer Rescue, we know that part of loving them is losing them. We lose them to forever homes and sometimes we lose them to failing health. We knew that at our little house on the prairie we would eventually have to lay one to rest. For some people the thought of burying a dog in your yard is not a comfortable. For us it is as natural as loving them.
In this case it is not one of our resident pack, thankfully, but sadly one of our foster family. We love our fosters as one of our own, and my son's foster dog counts just the same. So when Pongo crossed the bridge unexpectedly, we gave them the option to bring him here to be laid to rest.
Our dogs, and our fosters are surely family in the best way possible. Therefore, it is a comfort to know family is close. Close in heart, close in the yard and close in our minds. It is never what one wants to do, but sometimes what one has to do.
So while it was a sad, sad weekend we also found much grace in it. We love our little house on the prairie, we love our family and we love that Pongo is here with us. Literally and figuratively. The ritual gives us closure and the love give us peace. And, our home is even richer than before because of this process. The process of love.
