My Special Friend is Gone yet Lives

Yesterday, while glancing at the calendar I saw that it was the anniversary month of meeting my recently departed best friend. I can still picture her with those large sparkling brown eyes and that always adorable look on her face. We all know that life itself will not last forever. But when the end comes, and it always does, you’re never ready to fully accept it. Like most people, I had been through this before, but this time was the toughest. She is the one who had my heart more than any other who had preceded her. She was the one I will miss most.

She came into our lives as just a baby. We already had two girls. But one girl was at the end of her days or at least we thought so. We did not want the other girl to be left alone so we decided to take her in. Ginger took one look at the adoptee and by her actions said “I am not going anywhere at the moment.” She hung on for more than two years after that and left us one warm summer afternoon. The new girl looked a lot different than the other two, but was quite special in her own way.

What made Bonnie special? Those 55 pounds of brownish, black and white fur, with those piercing brown eyes was exceedingly smart- much more than the others. Like so many other families we had many sharing our house over the years, but this one was so much smarter.

Her body, like most bodies would eventually betray her. Her mind was still sharp as a knife, but her lungs and heart gave out. We tried our best to keep her with us, but her time had come. My wife and I felt so helpless kneeling there next to her. She hung on for about thirty minutes. After that she left us while lying in my arms. I felt so helpless sitting there holding her. I had protected her and taken care of her since she was a puppy, but now I cannot any longer. Our beloved Bonnie was gone.

God works in mysterious ways. Seven months after Bonnie passed away, we adopted a fifty-five pound Border-Australian Shepard while vacationing in Florida. Both my wife and I have told Cassie she has a large collar to fill. There will never be someone to fill the hole in my heart for the loss of my best friend who now runs the streets of heaven. One day my wife and I will again have Bonnie alongside us as we walk those same streets of gold.