Becoming One With The Force

A few months ago one of our family dogs passed away from a heart attack. Her name was Love. She was a hundred and twenty pounds of pure mischief mixed with as her name implies…love. She was the watchdog of the family, the alpha dog that dominated the yard and kept strangers and creatures from invading our sanctuary. The UPS driver feared her so much that he would toss our packages over the front gate and run back to his truck as she ripped the outer package to shreds. People walking down the street were startled with fear as she ran growling towards our front gate with her wing man Rocket in tow. Two black labs protecting our lair as effectively as the dynamic duo. She was responsible for the untimely demise of several cats and multiple squirrels, hamsters, rats, snakes, birds, iguanas, and her favorite snack lizards. She was a holy terror to creatures large and small and even bit her buddy Rocket a few times that ended in expensive vet bills. I used to call her Darth Love because she would sit at the front door with her nose pressed against it, smelling an intruder on her turf and inhaling so loud that she sounded like the Dark Lord of the Sith. But this chubby puppy had a soft side and that was when she was with the kids. She was fiercely protective of them and never ever was aggressive with them. She had always been around as longer as they can remember. She was 11 years old when she passed and was an integral part of our kids childhoods. She passed away at Midnight on a Sunday. My wife and I loaded her into our truck and took her to the emergency animal hospital while Grandma watched the sleeping children. We did not tell the kids before school because we knew how devastating that would of been. I got home early from work that day so I could break the news. They were heart broken. Especially Hunter who is only 8 years old. I could not calm him down until I found a way to explain death in a way he could understand. Star Wars, Hunter loves Star Wars. Whose wisdom other than Yoda’s would be better to apply to the situation? After hugging him for a long long time, I sat him down and repeated these words to him. “Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is.“ Hunter recognized the words belonging to his hero Yoda. He calmed down like any good Jedi would and we discussed what it means to lose someone we love. A green muppet was able to bridge the gap and connect with his young mind in a way that I could not. Our fatty patty dog Love has now become one with the force.


Republished from my blog Capes and Kids Jan 4th, 2012 3:58pm