Kindness can help heal.
We had to have our dog, Sadie, put to sleep on Good Friday. It’s taken me until now to be able to write about it. It wasn’t completely unexpected. She was a hundred fifteen pound dog and she was fourteen years old. She had long outlived her life expectancy. Still, she was healthy and although she could no longer hear or see very well, she seemed to be chugging along just fine, until she wasn’t.
She had some sort of stroke. We called our vet and he was set to be out of town for the week, but would be in for a couple of hours that morning. He had always been Sadie’s vet, so we really wanted it to be him. We beat him there and had to wait for a while, but they got us in a room and checked on us repeatedly, offering us tissues and drinks. Their gentleness and kindness was unbelievably touching.
When the vet arrived, he actually sat on the floor with us as she drifted off for the last time and they made a little plaster footprint for us to keep. While the entire process was pretty gut wrenching, I was so incredibly moved by their kindness.
When we attended a Good Friday prayer service that night, we told our pastor about our dog. He was very sympathetic and was concerned about our kids. On Easter Sunday, I had several church members express their condolences too. I don’t know why I was so surprised. It’s a very small, close-knit community. If you have ever had a dog, you know they become part of the family.
The vet clinic is in a very rural county and they are always busy. They really didn’t have to go out of their way to be so incredibly kind to us, but they did. A couple of days ago, we got a sympathy card in the mail from them and everyone in the clinic signed it. Attached to the card, was an envelope of wild flower seeds. We can plant them in a patch and be reminded of Sadie every spring.
What a beautiful gesture, that again, was certainly not required or even expected from them.
Kindness is one of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, one that seems in short supply these days if you watch much of the news. It often takes so little from us to extend kindness to others, but that effort can mean the whole world to someone who is hurting.
I feel so blessed by the kindness extended to our family over the loss of our dog and I am reminded to be ever vigilant to extend it to those around me who may be hurting. It really does help.
When my kids ask me if dogs go to heaven, I have to say that I can’t imagine creatures that bring so much love to humanity not being close to the heart of God. So, yes I suspect heaven is full of dogs.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂