This past week I have had two friends call with the news that their beloved pets had died. Even though both had been ill for some time, when the end came it was still a horrible, stinging blow.
A pet can crawl into your heart in a way that nothing else can. (I do not have human children, so I can not even begin to imagine.) They give unconditional love and depend on you for their very lives; every drink of water, every morsel of food. You are their entire world. When they greet you with wiggling, waggling, gleeful enthusiasm, that is your reward. We need to be needed by them. They give us more than we could ever hope to give them.
But there is a flip side. The day that we all hope and pray won't come invariably does. We have to say goodbye. Our pets pass away and our hearts are broken. Sometimes we have to make that hard decision ourselves, other times they leave us on their own accord. Neither is easy.
Their loss leaves a hole in our lives that never truly goes away. Love is our greatest renewable resource and other pets may come into our lives; but those unique bonds are never broken. We never really say goodbye.
To my friends who lost their pets this week and to those of us who mourn our departed darlings, I offer the words of Albert Schweitzer. I hope that they will offer some comfort.
A Prayer for Animals
Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals, especially for animals who are suffering; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry; for all that must be put to death. We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words. Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
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