Letting go

Pets die, too. Mine did just this morning and death came like a cold hand gripping my heart hard until it bled. Nala, as kids called her when she came to the family a couple of years or so ago, was expecting, and I suspect she had a hard time with this third pregnancy, and which eventually cost her life.

I would become expectant whenever Nala conceived, and the children would always look forward to the day she would deliver her healthy puppies. It was always a family affair, not only for our pet but also for the whole family.

Now she’s gone. Memories of her wanting to be petted flow. She would always roll over at the sight of any member of the family, seemingly inviting him/her to rub her tummy and tickle her belly. Then she would wag her tail and push her nose up your face, making her happiness known to you until you would bend down and squeeze her nape. She would simply love it.

But she also knew that some kind of chemical reaction goes on in our bodies with that simple interaction. According to Boneo, a website that shares information regarding canine life expectancy, the average life span of a dog varies from breed to breed but generally smaller dogs tend to have a greater life expectancy than larger ones.

Our Nala may have been very sick, although we always considered her the “survivor” in her family tree. She had outlived all her puppies, most of which died when they were just weeks old or even when they were already fully grown.

One of her puppies that grew bigger than her but which she also outlived was Simba, a beautiful, white male Bisdak (for Bisayang Dako), otherwise known as mongrel. He however died sooner than we thought after a mysterious disease swept the neighbourhood and sent many pets to their demise, including about four of Nala’s new puppies.

So now, we have but one more dog left, “Choco,” who was brought by a friend to me one day late last year when the same disease devastated the village pets. She brought Choco for safekeeping for a while but eventually decided to let her stay with us. Choco is female and also a wimpy dog who loves to be squeezed all around.

Nala has left a void after she finally left us. “Will Nala go to heaven?” a little girl in the neighborhood asked. Well, I haven’t thought about that I said, but why not? There could be some “heaven” where familiar souls would meet once more and continue living in God’s time.

If God created all of us, including the birds and the bees and inanimate things such as plants and all living things, there is a big chance that those that died will transform somehow and be in another world, a world where there is no more war and no human suffering whatsoever, where everything is peaceful and tranquil.

Humans aspire have this kind of place in this world, and yet skeptics say it’s just a matter of perception.--

Nala has left a void after she finally left us. “Will Nala go to heaven?” a little girl in the neighborhood asked