Thank you for posting, Douglas, and you, as well, have a Blessed day.

Judith

in reply to @psychoticnonconformist Thank you. I understand. I lost my dog in March 2022 and it was a good 6 or more months before I could sleep in my bedroom at night, and I still have trouble sleeping. She was a pit bull that I rescued from the shelter and out of the many dogs I have had in my lifetime, she was overall the best dog. I am hearing impaired so I had trained her to be a "hearing dog" because when I am alone in my apartment I do not always wear my hearing aids. She was my protector and best friend. After she died I planted an olive tree in a pot so that I could move it indoors during the winter. For what it is worth, I talk to that tree everyday and say "Goodnight Ducky" every evening. The SPCA had named her, she had been there over 150 days and had been rescued from a dog fighting ring. The SPCA interviewed over 100 people before deciding to give her to me. While I probably could have changed her name, I did not because that was the name she was used to. However, everyone really did think she was "just ducky." I sorely miss her, as you can imagine. Her pictures adorn my walls, but lately I have been thinking that maybe I should take some down and perhaps make some kind of shadow box instead so that my apartment does not look like some shrine to a now deceased dog. Just typing this brings back so many wonderful memories. I have given thought to getting another dog, but I could never love another dog as much as I loved Ducky. My friend, who was once my rheumatologist, told me that sometimes things do happen for a reason, and I believe that my dog died because she knew I was sick. Always putting her nose where my liver is, following me into the bathroom etc. We all know how smart dogs are in this way. I have a picture of her on the way to the vet on that fateful day, and she has the biggest smile on her face. It was after this, that I began trying to live more like my dog, "in the moment." Dogs teach us many things, don't they?