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| Sagan |
Here’s a touching tale about a sad-eyed dog and a synchronistic message contained in an Easter egg. The story was sent to us by Sagan’s former companion Sharon Graham.
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The first time I saw Sagan was in 1996 on Christmas morning.I opened the door to the T.V. room and there was my surprise,a small bundle of white fur with sad eyes and a big red bow.I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.The huge feet on the small body was a sign of things to come.
There is no other breed that loves its family the way a lab does.They are happiest at your feet. Don’t try to tie one out in your yard;you will break his heart and he will let you know with the most pitiful howling.
This dog got in the trash, ate remotes and managed to make us all fools for him. At Easter time, I would hide plastic eggs in the woods behind the house.In the eggs would go dollar bills,candy or scripture verses and the big kids and the grand kids would take off, with the dogs leading ,and hunt for the eggs.One year, after all the eggs were opened,the one with the ten dollar bill was missing.Later, we discovered that the 90 pound lab had found the egg, slinked away to the T.V. room unseen and ripped the bill to pieces.This caper by the big giant went into Easter family lore.
We took Sagan with us when we ran a retreat house on Edisto Island in 2006, and in the surf,chasing Frisbees,he came into his own. He would go until we got tired. He was happiest at the beach.I recall a woman at the beach admiring him and telling me to treasure his time with us as she had just had lost her chocolate lab of 8 years because of a leg tumor.I felt sorry for her but confident that we had a healthy dog that would be part of our family for many years to come.I should have known.
In the fall,I noticed his jaw was swollen and then there was blood.The vet told us it was a grand tumor. Surgery was possible but so were the odds it would come back. In January 2008, I made the decision.The ride to the vets was terrible as anyone knows who has experienced it.The trip home was horrible.The only small comfort was that we still had our older dog, Cooper.
The next day,I took Cooper for his walk in the bare woods as I did every day. It was cold and dreary and I was heavy with loss. As we walked the path, I glanced to the left and there on the top of the brown leaves was a yellow egg.Why hadn’t I seen it before? It was nine months ago that I hid the Easter eggs. I guessed that when I opened it, I would find moldy chocolate.I was surprised when I opened the dirt crusted egg and found scripture. And then, I saw that it was my favorite passage;I used it in the first story I ever wrote about a much loved gift. It is Ps 23: “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.” How did I not see that egg for 9 months and then find it on this sad day? Co-incidence?
I am not very smart. My grown children known much more than I do.I am forgetting how to spell words. I no longer know all the capitals of the states.I am a flawed human being.We humans use a tenth of our brains,are finite and limited.We walk with blinders on.The hawk sees much more of the world, the deer hears twenty times better and my son’s beagle gets messages through his nose that we will never know.I will never understand how a hummingbird with the brain the size of a pea can leave my yard, go to Chile for months and then show up in March at the window looking for food.
We dismiss our dreams because Freud told us they have no value.We do not pay attention to our intuition.When goose bumps come up to tell us to pay attention,something important is happening here,we turn away.
We had an Irish Setter that loved all of humanity except for Frank who lived next door.When he would knock to come in,she would growl and bark at him. Did she know that long after she died, he would have a black pit bull, be abusive to it and eventually shoot it in the head?
This I know:on the day when I needed it most,an inspired verse,written down over 2000 years ago,in a land a half a planet away ,came into my hand and gave me comfort.
we can learn a lot from our animals, they feel much more readily than us humans, and look what happens…
On the other hand, everyone is dumb about something. It's all about where our focus lies.
I've been under the weather with a cold for the past several days. So this word verification is hilarious.
snesies
Yep, I've got the sneezies! R
Lovely story………Thanks! And I agree with Natalie above; what's "smart"? Animals are smart in their own unique ways, and lots of people have right brain intelligence. I know a woman who has two MFA's but she can't multiply past 5.
What a truly beautiful story, and what a loving and loyal, furry friend to leave a message for Sharon when she needed it most.
Like Mike, I don't believe people aren't smart. There are many different types of intelligences. ♥
There is zero doubt in my mind that my previous lab, LadyGirl,
guided me to Sunshine just five weeks after LadyGirl passed. I couldn't even think about getting another canine companion soulmate so soon. But LadyGirl, playing in the meadows beyond The Rainbow Bridge, had other ideas, and the psychic push persisted until I had no choice but to go to the shelter and surely enough, my Sunshine was right there, just as I had "seen" her in my mind, and had kept hearing the name "sunshine". That wasn't her name before she came to me at eight months of age, but she responded to it immediately and perpetually and she jumped into the back of my SUV as if she'd been there forever. I KNOW my LadyGirl nudged her into my life. No one would ever be able to convince me otherwise.
Friends,
Your comments warm me.It is wonderful to have others appreciate what I feel was a blessed moment in my life.Thanks to Rob for seeing value in sharing it.
oh, my gosh!!! utterly beautifully moving! like cj, i just simply could not comment for a few minutes – an overwhelming and, as cj said, inspirational story! thank you sharon and segan!!! you have both enriched our lives!
What a beautiful story. Thankyou for sharing.
My cats are wondering why I hugged all of them but they are purring now.
Oh, and that Easter Egg, his way of saying Im still here with you.
Oh my gosh, what a wonderful and heartwarming story. So sad but comforting too. Love this post. Thanks for sharing her story.
A story to tug at the heart strings of any dog lover. But as for Sharon saying she is not very smart – rubbish! And no matter what Freud may or may not have said, we are all of great value. Especially people like Sharon.
Thanks for sharing sweet Sagan with us.
I just gave Noah and the cats big hugs!
– Trish
For all animal lovers who haven't seen or read it, our vet sent us a sympathy card eight years ago when our previous yellow lab passed. The card had a prose-poem on it entitled THE RAINBOW BRIDGE. It can be found on the computer by googling The Rainbow Bridge or by typing it into your searchbox. It brings such joy and comfort and peace. Have tissues handy.
WV" "aperadd" appeared?
I think I will give my black lab, Lucy, a great big hug. Great story.
I hope there is a special place for Frank, when he leaves this earth.
I am too moved to comment. Am walking that walk with my yellow lab Sunshine, just more slowly, and am inside every word and every emotion expressed in this story of inspiration and unconditional love. Thank you so much for sharing Sagan with us.