The day we got our Bloodhound puppy, Maggie, I looked at my husband and said, “One day we’re going to have to say goodbye to her.” Anyone who has ever loved a dog has felt this kind of anticipatory grief. We know that a special bond with a dog has an expiration date. Or does it?
There’s a new book coming out in September by Cathryn Michon, and I had the honor of reading an advance copy. It’s called I’m Still Here: A Dog’s Purpose Forever. This book captures all the complicated feelings one experiences when a fur baby crosses that inevitable rainbow bridge. Told from the perspective of a canine angel, it’s full of advice and insight, funny and poignant, from a canine angel who’s been both *here* and *there*.
From chicken treats and chasing balls to the final gentle farewell that is entrusted to us, the narrating dog angel guides the reader through all the emotions with grace and humor.
As I read these pages, which contain beautiful watercolor paintings of dogs, I often thought of the many dogs I have loved in my life and what each one of them has brought to me. Memories of the vivid dreams I have had about them since they passed away came flooding back to me.
Maggie came back in a dream, in the back of the yellow pickup truck we owned when she was little. She was coming home from a ride with Dad, wagging her tail and barking to get my attention. I waved to her from an upstairs bedroom window.
In another dream, Bella, the yellow Labrador we adopted in her final years, also came back. She simply came into the kitchen to say hello. I dropped to the floor, stuck my fingers in her fur and kept telling her how much I missed her.
Those dreams felt so real, and reading I’m Still Here confirmed just how real they really were. Michon and her dog angel never miss a moment that makes loving a dog so special. Perhaps the most poignant part of the book is the way the dog angel, inspired by Michon’s own dog Tucker, gives a grieving reader permission to love another dog.
Once someone understands the love of a dog, they also understand that it is overwhelming to hold all that love inside once you cross the rainbow bridge. In the emptiness of grief, there is so much love that seemingly has nowhere to go. But the answer is not to never love another dog again, but to understand that no matter what happens, your dog’s soul is still here and will always return to you, in your dreams, in your memories, and maybe even reborn in the next dog you love.
I’ll never forget the night I woke up and heard Bella barking in her sleep. That was never her style. But Maggie, who had since passed away, talked constantly in her dreams. My husband woke up too and we looked at each other. “She sounds just like Maggie,” I said to him. I felt like Maggie was visiting us through Bella. Maybe that was really the case.
This book makes a great gift for anyone who has ever loved and lost a beloved dog, whether the grief is fresh or years ago. The advice and insights from this special canine angel will make you smile, help you remember, and rekindle your love of dogs.
Check out Bonnie’s weekly YouTube videos at https://www.youtube.com/bonniejeanfeldkamp. To learn more about Bonnie Jean Feldkamp and read features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
Photo credit: Oscar Sutton on Unsplash
