Help Me to Be the Person My Dogs Think I Am

We had a sudden, unexpected death in our family when my sweet cousin went home to be with the Lord. She lived alone with her little dogs and her life revolved around them.

They were and are her children. It is so difficult for some people to understand why a woman (or a man) can fall so deeply in love with their dogs and treat them as though they were children. Let me share Sherry's story with you.

"To the world you are only one person. To your Dog (s) you are the WORLD.

Dear God, Help me to be the person that my dogs think I am."

Puddles, her oldest Shih Tzu saved her life one day. When the stove gas was leaking in her apartment, it was Puddles who relentlessly nudged her from a sound sleep. He whined and cried until she arose '" very unlike him to bother her when she slept. Sherry had numerous health issues and it was as if her "babies" as she called them, understood this and took care of her, too. Yes, Puddles saved her life. Sherry never forgot it and when he grew old and sick himself, she nurtured him and cared for his every need, making his life as comfortable as possible.

She fed stray cats in the neighborhood, rescued unwanted dogs from disastrous situations and all the while she nurtured and cared for her own little dogs '" her babies. Sherry laughed easily and often shared the antics of her '˜babies' and she faithfully emailed me every day to tell me she was okay so far away from us, living alone in Upstate New York.

We traveled up to spend holidays with her and often brought our own '˜baby' up for her to groom for us. She loved spending time with us and truthfully, I believe she loved seeing our little dog just as much as she loved laughing with us.

This past week, alone with her little family of dogs, she slipped from this life into the everlasting life. The police called me several hours after her passing. Her first and last thoughts were of her dogs. She left detailed instructions on what to do, who to call and took the time to not only organize all of their health records and paperwork, but she wrote about each of their personalities and traits.

At the end of every email, Sherry would write, "To the world you are only one person. To your Dog (s) you are the WORLD.

Dear God, Help me to be the person that my dogs think I am."

Your dogs knew the special person you were, Sherry. Their world and ours has a terrible void.