What Do You Say to a Grieving Dog Owner?

Asia, minus her dog pal

I don't know what it is, but lately I've been talking to a lot of dog owners about loss.  Last weekend it was a man in Boston's North End.  He was walking Asia, his one dog instead of the usual two.

And yesterday I caddied for a nice fellow who put his friend of 13 years down just a few months ago, and quickly bought a new Lab to replace him.  He had such joy talking about his new puppy, but it was clear my golfer was still grieving the other one.

After the round, I shared with my loop part of what we wrote in Follow the Dog Home, because in many ways he was feeling similar to how my 10-year-old daughter and coauthor Samantha did a few years ago.  Samantha came home and discovered our 12-year-old German Shepherd, Tiffany, dead on the floor.  A few months after that, we got a new German Shepherd--Beverly.  I thought all was well.  What I didn't realize was Sammy's feelings of joy for the new dog were tempered by her concern that Tiffany would think we had abandoned her.   I never would have known this had she not expressed it in her writing.

Tiffany (dog) with Amanda (left) and Samantha

So as I was saying goodbye to my golfer, I wanted to leave him with something.  I told him what Lebanese Philosopher Kahlil Ghibran wrote about in The Prophet; something that we included in Follow the Dog Home.  Sorrow carves away at your being so the vessel can be refilled in whole when joy returns.  It's like a tall glass of cold lemonade on a hot summer day.  Were we not parched in body and spirit before, the replenishment wouldn't be as refreshing.

Beverly (dog) with (L to R) Samantha, Kevin and Amanda

Cute Dog Pictures

Bailey, Sarasota, FL

What does the headline of each blog entry have to do with what it's about?  Not much, or everything.  One thing we've discovered since we started the Follow the Dog Home Blog along with the book, is that nothing gets attention quite like cute dog pictures.  I could write a heckuva good entry with thrilling content, but if there's no picture, there are no takers.  I get it, and you know what?  I'm a sucker for a cute dog picture as much as anyone else.  That's Bailey above.  I bumped into him at a birthday party in Sarasota.  More on bumping into strange dogs below.

Beverly, Wellesley, MA

We're wrapping up a nice vacation in Florida; and while I was busy frolicking with the kids and the Mrs. in the pool, and trying to fool every largemouth bass in the Sunshine State with plastic worms, I couldn't help but think about how much I miss my dog, Beverly.  I'm sure she's anxiously looking out the window back home in Massachusetts wondering when we're coming home.

While in Naples, Florida I discovered a dog park around the Lely Resort.  There I met plenty of elderly snowbirds who wondered who shows up at a dog park sans dog?  I do.  They may have found it odd, but their dogs didn't.

Hank, hankering for more catch & fetch

Hank the Goldendoodle wore himself and my arm out with a sloppy game of fetch.  Slipperiest tennis ball I've ever touched.  Awesome dog.

Sheba, Great Dane

Sheba, the four-year-old 170-pound Great Dane above is the biggest female dog I've ever seen.  In true Great Dane fashion, she did everything well... big.  She gave me loving kisses that, because of the drool, stayed longer than the affection.  She was such a sweetie.

And then there was Mays, as in Willie Mays.  Man did he like to play.  He was cruising at full speed along with a Whippet named Ollie when, CRASH!  They slammed into me like two linebackers on a blitz.  It was really something, but none of us was worse for wear, although I was wearing dirt and gobs of more doggy saliva after that too.  But that's the life of a dog park party crasher, and it's a good life, when your best dog is home alone.

Mays, Yellow Lab

Super Dogs at Super Bowl

I saw a lot of football at the Super Bowl, naturally.  I also saw quite a few "Super Dogs" in Indianapolis.  So I thought I'd tell you about them.

Below are Brody and Kaiser, German Shepherd rescues.  I don't think I've ever seen more handsome rescue dogs in my life.  I don't know who would give up on such beautiful dogs; but their owner, Sean of Indianapolis is thrilled to have them.  I've seen a lot of well primped dogs who don't look as good as these two.  Brody and Kaiser enjoyed the whiz sound of the zipliners zipping past St. John's Church in front of the Convention Center.

Brody front, Kaiser back

There were lots of working dogs too.   As to be expected, many were German Shepherds.  

Diesel, Ft. Wayne, IN

Above is Diesel from Ft. Wayne.  He's trying to listen in on his handler's cell phone conversation.  After the man hung up, Diesel did his thing--sniffing my bag and the bags of other reporters and cameramen.  I couldn't get Diesel  in action because the Super Bowl Super People were rushing me along; but here's another dog in action that did pretty much the same thing.  It happened so fast, that it really was--like the picture--a blur.

Then there were Rowdy and King.  Both worked for the Department of Homeland Security.  Both were Labs.  King is the black Lab in the top picture.  From the nose down, I kinda think he looks like his handler.  Rowdy is the yellow Lab below King.  He looks like his master too.  Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?  The dogs and handlers did a masterful job sniffing around media headquarters of the JW Marriott Hotel.

And then there were regular dogs who just took a walk, or a seat around the Super Bowl Village.  Below are Goldendoodles Finlay and Jackson.  Neither is golden, but their personalities were.  Both charmed the passersby who wanted to pet them.  They loved it, and their owners did too.

Finlay, brown Goldendoodle

Jackson, black Goldendoodle

So there you go for Super Dogs.  They really were a part of Super Bowl 46.  It just goes to show that the Super Bowl is for everyone, and that includes the dogs.