Heaven has one more Angel

...this is from Mark....

When Wisdom's spirit left her body it filled the room and showed its light and miraculous size;
much larger than her little body.

I wanted to look up to see the colors and the stars in her spirit with my eyes instead of my heart, but my eyes were too filled with tears.

As her spirit moved upward, God caused the ceiling and roof to vanish so he could take her away with him, to a better state of being. I could almost feel and hear Wisdom's spirit moving to join God as it whooshed away to heaven.

Judy said, "it was holy moment" when Wisdom's spirit joined God. Dr. Hannah said, "I felt it too; I always do" and "I can't imagine there being a heaven without dogs".



Heaven has one more angel:

Redhill's Saintly Wisdom

10-12-91 to 11-26-07

Trying to come back to life...

Middle dog, Mercy

It has been quiet and very sad around our house. First day without Wisdom was very difficult. Mark had to go to Parksville so I was home alone. There were many times my subconscious would think "I need to check on Wisdom" then my heart would clutch and my conscious mind would remember that she was gone. Then I would start to cry. At least the out-of-control crying has stopped. I have found people offering condolences the hardest, I think the feelings are too raw right now.

Middle dog, Mercy, didn't leave her bed for two days except to go outside and do her duty. Youngest dog, Joy has been more connected, I think because she watched what was happening Monday night from the sidelines. Joy has been comfort-seeking and comfort-providing.

Today, Mercy has started participating in the household and Joy has stopped looking for Wisdom; so I think they are moving through this. When we leave for vacation it will be better for them. The new places, new smells and the adventure will help the time Wisdom was with us move farther into the past.

Mark had to stay home for a conference call today and I had physio so I needed to go to Comox. I think it was easier to be away from the house. After I came home, it was hard, because Mark went through the same things I had yesterday (the heart clutching) so it was emotional after I got home.

I think I'll wash her bed tomorrow and start to put some of her things away. I had an idea of framing her collar (it's a beautiful leather collar) with a photo of her. Do you think that is too odd?

Thank you all for your words of comfort and caring. Prayers are most appreciated, as is positive & healing energy if prayer isn't part of your life. HUGS!

Baby dog, Joy

In Mourning....

our beautiful Wisdom went into severe respiratory distress on Monday night. Our wonderful vet came to our home, in the snow, checked her over carefully and then gently guided us to making the decision to let her go. A look in Wisdom's eyes told me that she was ready to go - they were filled with pain, panic and a pleading for us to "do something".

She went gently, her breathing became less labored, softer and then finally stopped.

A huge life force filled our house, much larger than the small body she occupied, lifted upwards and then was gone.

Our hearts ache....

Amazing Accomplishment

We have three Ibizan Hounds named Wisdom, Mercy and Joy. Yesterday, Wisdom became the oldest lived Ibizan hound on records. Caveat - that is to the best of our information and knowledge.

A few weeks back, I called the AKC and their attached canine health research group and learned that they only keep birth records so they were no help. But, I'm a member of a breed group, with members from all over the world. The group has dog owners and lots of breeders. When I checked with the group the oldest Ibizan that anyone knew about was a male that passed quietly in his sleep when he was 16 years, 41 days old.

Yesterday, Wisdom turned 16 years, 42 days old.

We took her to the vet a couple of weeks ago for a check-up and our vet, Dr. Hannah, told us that she would probably be with us at least 2-3 more months. Now, (don't take this the wrong way because we love Dr. Hannah and she is very, very smart) this is the same vet that told us 5 years ago that Wisdom would be with us 2 more years. Dr. Hannah took that back last year, she said, "I'm not even going to guess anymore because Wisdom keeps proving me wrong".

Winter is Coming!

I got up in the middle of the night last winter and we had a gorgeous full moon. The contrast of the dark, light and ice was too fabulous for me to pass up. I took this photo of the moon through the skylight in the kitchen.

Winter is coming. Our temperature was below freezing last night and we have snow in the forecast for Saturday. I was beginning to think that we wouldn't have our first snow storm before we leave for Christmas Holiday.

Hope you are all well and, for you Americans out there, are full of turkey and all the trimmings.

Judy