I attended a funeral yesterday. Because I spend time with some people as they begin their transitions from this life to their next, their families ask if I can come to the funeral. This means a great deal to me, especially if the person who died had a dog of their own. D is pleased to take me and I often sit with the grandchildren of the person who has died.I want to say something that’s extremely important. If you have a close relationship with Dog and you’re a dog lover as well, then you may already know this: In my own way, I understand what dying means. It doesn’t mean that I dwell on it like you humans, but it does mean that I can accept that life is finite.
What I don’t understand and what hurts more than I could ever convey, in my limited vocabulary, is desertion. I don’t understand when you just go away, or someone takes you away from me.
So please, I beg of you, if you’re a family member of someone who has died and they had a dog, it’s very important to take the dog to the funeral director’s to see their carer, so the dog will understand what has happened. It’s not as much visual as it is through other senses, such as smell, and some other senses you humans still don’t quite understand.
My fellow dogs will understand. Of course they will be sad, but at least they will know that they weren’t just taken from the human that they have loved and cared for so many years. Just imagine how you might feel!
If your funeral director challenges you or suggests you can’t, for whatever pathetic reason they might make up, then tell them you’ve arranged for another funeral director to come collect your loved one and be firm about it! I promise you, they will be miraculously swayed to your point of view! There are too many funeral directors who are awful and all they want is your money! Some are honest and caring and there are even a few who have a genuine understanding of their spiritual responsibilities. But the truth is they can be far and few between!
Enuff said! But this deserves several woofs on the woof meter! So please don’t forget! I’m counting on you!
Mr Piddles
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