When your dog is in the ER

My body is radiating with joy and sadness, engulfed by the realization that my constant companion Georgia has been my greatest healer.

She played no small part in helping me navigate the loneliness of my 20s and finally finding love in my 30s. She serves as a mirror to me about me, a constant reminder that we are both anxious at times, overwhelmed in others — and always longing to be embraced. She pulled out in me the compassion I had never been able to offer myself nor had really absorbed from others in my life.

How else can I feel in this moment except honored? To be her caretaker, her guardian, her advocate. To be her reminder that Momma always comes home, always protects and is always by her side.

What more can any of us ask for in this life, than to be healed just once by the gentle presence of an animal?

Even now as I wait to hear what the doctors are able to find as they explore the inner workings of her heart and aortic arch, I let myself cry a few tears and then turn my energy to an image of the Great Beyond so she knows I am paving the way for her even now when she is still with me.

She is at home here with me. She will be at home there, ever still with me.

Even one day when it’s time for her to journey on, we won’t be parting. We’ll just be together in a new way.