Cat blog about my life with many, many cats.


Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Rosie the Black Lab Has Died - Sadness




We're sad here this week because Rosie, the wonderful black lab who was one of the two "guardian" dogs here on the farm, had to be put to sleep this past weekend.

Rosie was short for "Roosevelt." So even though he was called Rosie, he was very much a boy. A sweet, gentle, warm-hearted lab.

Technically Rosie was "owned" by our next door neighbors here on the farm, but since this is a compound of sorts where the animals mingle freely, Rosie was "our" dog, too. He'd spend summer nights with his companion, Audrey, on our porch or somewhere in the front yard.

Rosie was sensitive to etheric energy and often we'd find him camped out right in front of our door, as if guarding it against psychic intruders.

Rosie and his companion Audrey (pictured in the red sweater above - she gets cold in the winter!) had been dogmates for, oh, 14 years or more. Although they are different breeds, they've always been joined at the hip.

Rosie and Audrey have been having more and more health issues in recent years and we've all known that they wouldn't be around that much longer. But still, when Rosie became paralyzed this week and went into heart failure, it was a shock.

Rosie and Audrey are the guardians of this farm, the greeters who welcome all guests and the barkers who scold away negative energies and negative people.

We love them both very very much.

Rosie made a peaceful passing and his loved ones got to gather around, give him loving energy, and say their goodbyes.

It takes three full days for a spirit to fully pass from the physical realm to the spiritual realm, and during that time, it's easiest to have "conversations" with the spirit of the person or animal who has passed on. Rosie told us he'd had a series of small heart attacks over the past few months and had actually been in quite a bit of pain, that's why he hadn't been moving around very well and looked tired. He was happy to leave that body behind but sad to leave his dear Audrey. We promised him we'd look after her.

Audrey is doing as well as can be expected. Dogs are sharp and very psychic, so she knows what happened. She tells us that she and Rosie have alternated bad health days in the past couple of years - one week, she's not doing well but Rosie is fine, the next week, Rosie isn't doing well but she is. So she knows that they aren't going to be around forever.

Sniff. Still, it's very sad when the end comes, and there's a huge vacant space on this property without Rosie's loving kindness to brighten our days.

When someone dies, you become very introspective about the last moments you had together. Rosie loved to eat steak scraps, and we grill steaks outside on the porch about once a week. I'm very glad that I was able to give him some yummy steak pieces last week. We also gave him and Audrey treats just about every day and reminded them that they're good dogs and we love them.

But you always wonder - did I love them enough?

That's a terrible thing to ask yourself.

I think coming out of this, that's the lesson that is sticking with me.......

Always make sure that you love them enough. Daily. Vocally. And with great warmth.

Because when it comes down to it, we're all good dogs, and we're all deserving of unconditional affection.

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