Sometimes on the path of life, we make sacrifices that cause an unseen wound we never truly recover from. Just such a wound was sustained today.
Although life doesn’t care about my plan, you would think that at some point, fate would stop trying to kick me when I’m down. Apparently, life intends on stripping me down to my bare elements before it allows me to start waking up happy again.
Five years ago, my wife and I were in a position where we were able to help out with a scenario that happens all too often… We found a post on FaceBook advertising that a local woman was moving out of her home to get a smaller apartment that didn’t allow pets. It seems the woman had recently gotten divorced and the ex-husband left a golden retriever/poodle mix dog behind.
As the woman could no longer afford to keep the house she was in, she had no choice but to move to a small rental. As the dog wasn’t technically hers, she posted that she was offering the dog for free for the next couple of weeks, otherwise she would have to drop her off at the SPCA.
I never had a dog in my youth. My parents never allowed it, as my brother was deathly afraid and my mother claimed allergies (I still think that was one of those parental tricks, but I’ll never know). My wife made the mistake of showing me the post and my heart went out to this dog.
My wife and I agreed to take her in, although I thought she was much smaller than she actually was, based on the photo I saw. I couldn’t have been more surprised at the 65-pound fur ball that came bounding over to me. That first day, I brought her with me to work as I didn’t have the day off. Her quiet, timid nature spoke of a shadowed past to which I wasn’t privy, but I knew that my wife and I could give her a home and make her future better.
It took not even a day before she was responding and coming to me, meeting me at the door, cuddling with me at every opportunity and occasionally stealing my wife’s slippers. She became an expected and enjoyed presence within our home and grew to be part of our family.
In the grand scheme of things, she’s been the world’s best doggy! Barely ever barking, and never making a mess in the house (with the exception of when she’s gotten sick).
With recent events that have happened in my work, and with the possibility of having to move on and sell our home, we had to make the difficult decision to send Molly to another home. Luckily, my wife’s mother stepped up and agreed to take Molly in so that she could stay in the family.
It breaks my heart because it seems to be just one more thing among many that I’ve been forced to lose because of someone else’s rumours. I’m hoping that eventually I can stop having everything taken away from me and life can stop being about constant sacrifice. Karma has to work in my favour eventually, right? In the meantime, Molly will be missed. Hopefully, I get to see her again someday before her time comes…☯
The Blogging Buddhist 