Last Sunday morning, I had a text from Lori telling me that our 13 year old golden retriever Chloe wasn’t
well. She couldn’t stand on her own anymore. It was not really a surprise as her health had been
declining, but it was still a shock. I was at the church getting ready for the service. I had an hour before
it was to begin, so I left the church and went to Lori’s house and spent some time laying beside Chloe on
the floor, stroking her head. She was quiet and peaceful, acknowledging my presence by licking the
back of my hand. I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew her time had come. I think she did too. Before
taking her to the vet later that afternoon, we got the boys on Facetime so they could see Chloe and say
their goodbyes. Rachel had been there earlier. It was time. We wrapped her in a blanket and carried
her to the car. As we pulled away, I knew, we both knew, that she wasn’t coming home. At 6pm we
said our goodbyes, told her that we loved her and thanked her for the love she brought to us.
I know many people reading this blog can relate to this journey. It is heartbreaking in every way.
It seems like a lifetime ago that we picked her up from a farm outside of Angus, and brought her home.
She was our Christmas present. She seemed so small and fragile, nothing hinting at the 100 pound,
boisterous, leaping, barking, eating machine that she was to become. It seemed to take forever to pick
out her name. I can’t remember why we chose Chloe, except that we could all agree that it suited her.
Always good natured, she became our loyal companion through the years, always present, always
happy, always receptive to every kindness and every act of affection, and always quick to return that
affection with a limitless supply of love.
I still can’t believe she is gone. I will miss her.
When you think about it, getting a dog, or any pet, is making a bargain with sadness. We enter into a
relationship with a pet knowing that one day we will almost surely grieve its passing. We will outlive it.
That makes it unique in all the relationships of love of which we are a part. So why do we do it if we
know one day it will end in tears? We do it because we know that what we will receive in return is a
kind of love that we can’t find anywhere else – pure, unconditional, and complete. Pets love us in a way
that nothing else can. Their love is both unpretentious and undemanding. It requires nothing from us,
but our attention and our affection. Our pet does not care about what we believe, how we dress or how
we vote. It does not hold a grudge, or keep an account of wrongs. And we never have to question
whether it will be there from one day to another. It greets us with a fresh batch of love every single
morning. I can’t help but wonder if the love of a pet is as close as we will come to knowing the
perfection of love itself.
Eckhart Tolle once wrote, “when your dog looks at you, the dog is not thinking about what kind of a
person you are. They are just happy to have you in their lives.”
When we got Chloe 13 years ago, I never thought about how difficult it would be to say goodbye one
day. I never thought that I was bringing a future time of sadness into my life. If I had known then what I
know now, would I have done it? Absolutely!!
To everyone reading this who has a pet, give them an extra hug today. Sadly, their bodies don’t last as
long as we wish, but the love they bring into our lives is felt forever.
