Celebrating life

I've worked with Hospice for nearly twenty years and I can tell you that dealing with death never gets easier. It is hard to say good-bye. Last night I noticed that our dog, Praise, was shivering a bit. I thought it was unusual so I covered him up and patted his head and he seemed fine otherwise.

This morning I came home from the gym and Lori pointed out that Praise could hardly move his back leg. She wondered if he had a stroke during the night. He didn't seem to be in pain. It was really worrisome. We decided we would make the call to the vet to see what was going on.

I have to confess that I didn't want to be the one to make the call. I didn't want to hear the bad news or have to make the decision to put him down. The truth is that it is hard for us to say good bye. Whether it is at the end of life for a loved one or simply a friend moving away, many of us try to avoid the pain of parting.

Maybe we need to reframe our thinking. Instead of looking at the event as a great loss, maybe we need to learn to celebrate what we have and what we have had. I know some people look at a funeral as a celebration of the gift of life. I like that. It affirms the blessing and helps us to remember the person, our pet, our friend. Praise has been a good dog, a good friend. No matter what happens in the next few days, we will all know in the Lord household that we have been blessed to have him.

Cal