My Shadow

Two weeks and a day after his seizure, Logan and I had to say good-bye to our sweet puppy. We had hoped that he would slowly get better or at least be around much longer in a slower fashion. This did not happen.

Shadow had seemed to improve each day before I left for Florida to catch up with Logan and his buddy Kevin at mom and Rudi's. Daily phone calls to the vet, where he was boarded for the first time ever, were more encouraging then I had expected. Truthfully, whenever I asked "how is Shadow today?", I'd get the response "He's doing good." "Really?" "Yes, he's doing good."

Logan and I raced off to the vet as soon as we returned from the airport last Friday. Knowing that Shadow would slip and slide on the vet's linoleum floor from excitement when he saw us, they took him out the backdoor to the grassy area for our reunion. I was surprised and concerned when Shadow barely glanced at us and simply pulled gently on the leash that had been handed to me. He seemed to be almost shell-shocked.

Saturday was an okay day for him and us as we prepared for Hurricane Irene and secured our backyard items and prepared in the home as well. That evening, he seemed uncomfortable but Reiki really seemed to calm him into a nice deep, lethargic sort of state. As the hurricane came and went, Shadow and I had a bad night that Sunday. With no power at our home or at the Animal Hospital, I held off from my 4:00am call until later that afternoon. Finally, I connected with our vet who also had no power.

It was time.

Logan and I laid on the floor with Shadow and with my arms around him, my whispers in his ear about love and gratitude for our time with him, and with Logan in Shadow's vision, he is gone...but never to be forgotten.

"Me and my Shadow
Strolling down the avenue
Oh, me and my Shadow..."