Hannah

The Lovely Sharon and I are friends with Ray and Kaye, whose family included, until recently, a beautiful Golden Retriever named Hannah.  A few days ago the Lovely Sharon told me that Hannah had passed away.  When I heard the news I felt an immediate pang in my heart.  I had known Hannah for a number of years, may be eight or nine. We met Ray and Kaye at Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert.  We have been good friends since we met.  Ray and Kaye’s place at Ironwood was a couple of doors from ours.  We visited them at their place and they visited us at our place fairly often.  When I was doing something in my garage, it was not uncommon to see Ray and Hannah walking past.  I always ventured out of the garage to say hello to the two of them. 

 Eventually, I started buying dog treats to have available for those occasions when Ray and Hannah walked by.  After a few times of getting my treats, it seemed to me that once Hannah was on her leash she looked forward to walking past my house.

Ray and Kay sold their place near ours in Palm Desert but bought one a few blocks away and we have visited them at their new place a few times. On each visit, we were greeting by the wet tongue and wagging tail of Hannah.

 The death of a cherished canine companion feels more than the death of a pet.  It’s the death of a family member, a confidant, a creature that provides unconditioned love to you.  No matter how short of time you might have been gone from your house, when you get back home your dog is as happy to see you as if you had been gone for days.  Your dog senses when you are sad or sick and offers you a wet kiss or a nudge with a wet nose to cheer you up or to see if you are ok.

I like this poem I found about dogs

Unconditional Love.

When a dog offers you his heart

Accept it with a smile

For his love will last a lifetime -

Which is such a little while.

When a dog offers you his heart

Take it gladly and with pride

For he will be a faithful friend

Ever by your side.

A dog loves you because you're you -

Not for how you speak or what job you do

You could be short, tall, thin or fat

Or ugly as sin, he doesn't care about that.

A dog knows if you're good or bad

He can see inside your soul

When he decides you're okay

To earn your love is his main goal.

When you're sad, he'll comfort you

And kiss away each tear

You may even wake up in the morning

With a cold nose in your ear.

When eventually the time comes

And the lights in his eyes dim

A new star will shine in Heaven

In remembrance of him.

You'll gaze up at the midnight sky

And you will hear him say -

"I'm so glad you were my human

We'll meet again some day!"

So, if this poem has caused a tear to fall

That's because you love the dog who's giving you his all

Go travel on together, happily paw in glove

He's the only one who'll ever give you unconditional love.

When a dog offers you his heart

Accept it with a smile

For his love will last a lifetime -

Which is such a little while.

By Hazel Harris-Lane