About Souls

I have enjoyed the privilege of having animals in my life.  I've had ferrets, birds, cats, fish, and dogs.  They've taught me so much about human kindness.  My experiences with them have led me to write them into my books.  


Unconditional love comes in many guises. 


These are my babies. 
heart failure.  I held him in my arms as the vet administered the injection that put him to sleep.  I watched his
The tri-colored sheltie on the right is Xanadu.  I lost him three years ago to congestive  eyes glaze over, heard his last breath, and felt the moment life left his body. 


It affected me greatly to lose him in physical form.  


Three days after his death, I heard him barking so loudly it woke me up from deep sleep.   I realized he had come to reassure me that he was okay.  If any fool tells you that animals don't have souls, tell them they're wrong.  They just haven't looked deeply enough into a dog's eyes.


The recollection still moves me to tears.  Everytime I see or hear a spirit, it only serves to prove that we are more than just our flesh.  If we were to aknowledge how wonderful we truly are, we would never harm each other.


I opened my eyes, glanced over at my husband.  He moaned and shifted in bed, but then again, he never did train himself to awaken to the sound of barking. 


I pasted Xanadu's picture to the other one using a stitch program.  My husband told me it doesn't match.  He looks bigger than the other two, and the snow is whiter.


He just didn't understand.


"What do you mean?" I asked.  "It matches perfectly.  Xanadu looks larger because he is in a higher place.  The snow is whiter because snow is always brighter in heaven.  The other dogs are barking up at him."

I adopted Deedra, my golden sheltie on the left from a sheltie rescue.  She had been abused and neglected.  It took me a year to get her to trust me, four to get her to trust my husband and everyone else.  Now she is a totally different dog, and I am so proud of her achievements.  She suffered through Xanadu's death with me.  


I adopted Stryker, the bi-black sheltie from the Humane Society after asking Xanadu to bring me a dog of the precise color and age.  I found him 6 months after his death.  He is only a few months younger than Dee.  They are now inseperable.  


When I write, I do it in a dog room/office.  As I sit at my desk, it's with two fluffy poochies at my feet.  It's my little piece of paradise, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 


And now a quote from an animal lover.




  Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem.  ~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh