DaisyBelle, G-d and Heaven

 

Dogs, G-d, and Heaven:

If you are reading this, I will share that DaisyBelle has passed away.  If you are looking for a cheerful and happy blog, this is not going to be it, and I would suggest you move on.  If you want to read something thoughtful, maybe even inspiring, keep on.

I must confess, when it comes to faith and G-d, that I am an agnostic at best.  I see much around me that is “miraculous,” but no evidence that there is a G-d, and I also see enough bad in the world to wonder if there is a G-d, why did she create us and this world in the first place.

That said, Norman Mailer didn’t believe in God till he had his cherished dog, which he was convinced had a soul.  I must confess, at this moment, when I looked at DaisyBelle, I might just have to agree with him.

Her life started with another family in Miami.  We didn’t adopt her until she was at a shelter, probably because Miami Dade outlawed Pit Bulls.  To be honest, she was a wonderful dog from the start with us, and I am always thankful for whoever raised her as a puppy.  I also wonder, since it is Miami,  whether she was bilingual and understood Spanish.

When we first adopted her, she was skin and bones.  She was weak enough, and she couldn’t walk more than a few blocks.  We were told that at the shelter, she wouldn’t forcefully eat among the other dogs, and Frank thought that when he saw her, she was an old dog who needed more care than the other dogs available.  Turned out she was about a year old.

Frank and I were good friends, and he wanted to foster her and have me help, and I knew better.  I fall in love with a dog in seconds.  We would have to co-parent her.  She was to split her time with each of us, at our own homes, and it worked fine in the daytime, but come nighttime, she wanted to be with and at Frank's.

We continued this way till Hannukkah, and it turned out my Mom was having a knee replaced.  Frank, Daisybelle, and I headed to Savannah, and by the time Mom was home instead of friends with a dog, we were a family.  Don’t go looking for human matchmakers; dogs are great at it!

DaisyBelle was a kind and loving dog with her own personality and uniqueness.  In the beginning, we decided whoever’s shoe she chewed up was the one she loved best.  I am not sure as I type this if I can tell you if she preferred Frank or me.  In fact, when we are together, she seems to find a way to pay us both equal attention. 

She loved to travel with us.  We have been to Savannah, Natchez, Hot Springs, and we have moved to four homes, and as long as we are there, she is eager to go.  In fact, if we wanted good service, having DaisyBelle with us was a sure bet.  As we moved from Fort Lauderdale, we went to the Alibi restaurant, which three of us had been to many times, one last time.  The waiter knew DaisyBelle’s name but didn’t remember ours, and I totally understood.

I fell in love with Frank, watching him carry her up the stairs at his house.  In fact, this was pretty early on, and I saw how quickly she came to trust and love him.  Again, dogs make great matchmakers.

When we met in Savannah to see cousins, they wanted to see where we were staying, but I think they really just wanted to see her, and who could blame them?

She did have moments beyond the shoe business.  She found cornbread on the kitchen counter, and it was too good to pass up.  She also did the same with a loaf of bread once.  She and Henry, Frank’s Mom’s dog at the time, escaped out the back gate in Austin, and for about 5 or 10 minutes, there was a bit of a panic.  She jumped in the car when Frank found her, and Henry followed her.

Speaking of Austin, one Sunday morning, DaisyBelle heard a noise, and it turned out to be a little five-week-old kitten, Lucky.  DaisyBelle found her and became somewhat of a surrogate Mom to her.  They were buddies and very close.  In fact, in the middle of the night, Lucky would yell at DaisyBelle to get on our bed, and they would sleep close to one another.

As strong as she was, she is a Pit Bull; her gentleness with children and even a five-week kitten is amazing.  I only saw her defensive for us with one human, and she didn’t do anything except make sure she was between us.  She did, on occasion, challenge me to walk to see if I was still stronger than her because I wouldn’t walk into the tall grass on the trails.

I want to conclude with the Dog and G-d thought.  I have a unique idea.  G-d created the dog, and the dog was almost perfect.  Had love, raised good puppies, and was protective of her pack.  G-d said there is only one thing missing: the Dog needs something to love and care for, and so she created humans.

Finally, I am hopeful that when DaisyBelle gets to the dog’s pearly gates, the angel says what would you like in heaven.  

DaisyBelle will say I was already in heaven. Have you met my family?