Until We Meet Again

January 17, 2017 Linda L. Esterson

It’s a little more than two weeks since one of the hardest days of my life. My heart is still broken, the tears are still flowing, and the sadness remains.

Our family dog – my second son – crossed over the “Rainbow Bridge” on Dec. 30. (See accompanying poem)

Sparky lived a long and happy life, to the wonderful age of 15. Just like with my father and my in-laws, it wasn’t long enough.

A bubbly and “sparkly” miniature schnauzer, Sparky had many nicknames. Our friends and family lovingly called him “Barky.” He was our protector. If you weren’t immediate family, you were subject to a thorough “talking to” upon your arrival. But once you sat down, he was on your lap for a cuddle. I loved to call him things like “Sparkalicious,” “Puppy Love,” “Love Dog” and “Baby Boyfriend.” He also was known as “Nugget,” “Noodle,” “Douglas,” “Little Man,” “Sparkatola” and many more.

For the first 14½ years, he was lively, rambunctious and funny. He’d lovingly greet us at the door, excited for our return, no matter how long we were gone. He’d cry at the front door if we stepped out just to get the mail. He’d guard the house from his perch on the living room sofa, alerting us to passersby and those in the yard or at the door. And he slept above me on his own pillow, kissed me goodnight and often cuddled my head as he fell asleep.

Sparky taught us many things. He taught us that love is unconditional. That trust is earned. That boy dogs are just as loving as girl dogs (he was my first male dog and the best behaved). And he taught it’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks (my husband taught him to wipe his feet on command before coming inside at the ripe age of 10).

In the end, though, illness overtook his tiny body. A diagnosis was not confirmed but looking back, we suspect it could have been cancer. Over the summer, he stopped eating the food he usually inhaled twice each day. We switched foods and he enjoyed that for a short time. But then with his loss of appetite and feeble stomach, I tried chicken, vegetables and rice, and later hamburger. A last ditch effort found him eating a canned food normally given to pets awakening from anesthesia. That succeeded to prolong the inevitable, albeit for about three weeks. The once 19-pound bundle of love had whittled to 13.8 pounds, and his bones were basically all we could feel.

Small spurts of energy found him running in circles outside, but less and less as time wore on. His once constant kisses for all of us became fewer and further apart. He no longer wagged his little stump of a tail, which we called “stubbying.” We loved on him as much as we could, but having to carry him up and down stairs and experiencing the suffering made it hard to endure for him and for us.

We believe that he told us it was time, but he waited for my daughter to return from her first college semester. He stopped eating on his last days, after enduring another bout of illness. That morning, my son left work and the four of us sat with Sparky, cuddling him, loving him and sharing wonderful memories. And of course, we all held him tightly as we cried, thanking him for being the best and most loving dog ever.

And just before the needle would send him on his last trip, he kissed me, in essence, telling me he loved me, thanking me for all of the good times and love, and saying goodbye.

Although this was the fourth family pet to leave me in my lifetime, this was the hardest. Maybe it was because I was his “mom” since he was seven weeks old. Maybe it was because he was the assistant to my home-based business. And most definitely, it was because I was there to say goodbye.

Everyone thinks their dog is the best, but I know mine was.

Until we meet again.

The Rainbow Bridge

(Inspired by a Norse legend)

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies heave healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff in the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then side-by-side, they cross over…together.

Linda L. Esterson is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.