Davey

As our Clancy walked out of the woods at the Rainbow Bridge, he was standing in a grassy field; the wind blew through his hair, walking a little farther, he reached the edge of the bridge where once a pet crosses, they never cross back. In the distance, Clancy saw a Border Collie limping, struggling to walk, and unable to see. As the dog got closer, his legs became stable, and he walked a little straighter. The scars on his face faded, and the puss in his eyes vanished, and he could see again as he reached the end of the bridge. "Are you Clancy?" "I am," Clancy said as he stood still and listened as he had many times before, and the stories were sad. "I heard about you; your name was said several times before I passed away, and I saw you," the dog said. "I was here, but you saw my helpers; I knew you were coming and waited for you as I will wait for all of them that come after you."I received this email from a shelter we work with one Friday afternoon, "He probably only weighs about 30 pounds, and his eyes are very cloudy. He needs to see a vet ASAP, so please let me know if you can do that." After talking to the shelter manager at 6:30 the following morning, we left the house hurriedly because it seemed bad. Driving a few hours, you never know what lies ahead. But I thought we were prepared, but we weren't.

On the way to the shelter, I called my Vet and tried to get an appointment because I felt we would need to see them as soon as possible; after the conversation, no appointments were open. The shelter was closed, but having the inside number, I called the Manager, and she met me and Maddie, my Granddaughter, at the back door. Maddie loved the inside work at shelters and often went with me. 

Once inside the shelter, the dog was in the "special care room," where the special dogs needed more help. One look told me this was bad. When I sat next to the dog on the floor, I reached out to his paw, holding it, knowing it was serious. Anything over 103 degrees is usually a bad sign, and his paw was burning up, and this dog was sick. His eyes were nearly shut because of the puss, and a hole on his forehead was infected along with his ears. I looked at the Manager and said this dog was dying, and he was. I contacted another Vet in Louisville trying to get him in; they were closing in just a short time because of Saturday hours, but they knew it was severe because my voice was breaking. A 30-pound dog that should have weighed 60 pounds was dying before us. He was picked up the day before by animal control on a dead-end road, where he was dumped along with broken pieces of his doghouse. He hadn't left the safety of it on that abandoned road because he was also blind. I would assume his old owner wanted everything gone, and it was.

My speech was slurred, and I was embarrassed because I was tearing up; how could a dog suffer this much for so long? He could still hear out of one ear, and I softly talked to him and stroked his scarred face and bony body; he wagged his tail, and that was all he could move. After all the pain and suffering he had gone through, he still wagged his tail from the hand of an unknown human he trusted and wanted someone to love him, and I did. The dog soon passed away, but before he left this world, someone loved him, but he knew peace on his last breath.

Not many words were spoken between Maddie and me on the long drive home, and many times, I just stared out the window, holding back tears. One of the few things I did said, "Now you have seen the ugly side of a rescue, and we couldn't help, but we tried."

As the dog and Clancy walked and talked, he asked, will I see him again?" "Who," Clancy asked. "The man who came to see me," he said. "yes, this is a special place; he will come soon." Clancy said. "What about the other man, the man where I lived that hurt me?" "There is a very special place for people like him, and you will never see him again," Clancy said.

Davey

When I got home, I walked around the farm with my dogs to clear my head. The first place I stopped was Clancy's grave; the wind chimes started as usual. Clancy told me that Davey was home and thanked Maddie and me for trying.

Rest and play in eternal peace, Davey; you certainly deserve it. It was one of the worst things I have ever seen, but we tried. I will never forget the wag of his tail from a broken and suffering dog that had no hope and none was available, but he knew on his last breaths someone loved him, and we did.

The meaning of the name "Davey" is: "Beloved." We named him; we wanted him to have a name.