So Long, My Friend

Today, I mourn the loss of Myriah.

Myriah came to me by way of an unscrupulous breeder. My boyfriend and I had purchased another dog from this woman (without knowledge of her bad practices). That dog needed a doggy friend. A mutual friend talked her into letting Myriah stay with us until we found a puppy. She was about 2 1/2 when she came to stay and was in sad shape. She was malnourished and thin. Her eyes were red and infected. She never got past being too thin, but she did start to look better. Her social skills were pretty limited, based on the fact that she was confined all the time and didn't have much contact with humans. I knew I couldn't give her back to that breeder. So she stayed. Always timid, but sweet and beautiful in her own way. I always tried to give her what she needed, but let her be herself. She was one of the most independent dogs I've ever known. Even though she became blind, she had more life in these last few months than she had in the entire time I cared for her.

Back in December, she developed some sort of illness and I started to prepare myself for the inevitable, but I didn't know what to care for her or how I would know when it was time to let go. I had this incredible dream where I was sitting in a car and I looked up into the sky and saw this large flock of birds flying towards me. When they were closer I noted that they were the same colors as Myriah. Coming even closer, I realized that they weren't birds at all, but little dogs. And they all looked like Myriah. And their wings were Angel wings. They were flying so strong and mighty. It was beautiful and surreal. At a time when she was becoming so weak, this dream gave me the message that she was a lot stronger than I give her credit for and that I just have to "let her fly". She had recovered from that illness and was more lively than I had seen her in a long time. It was her time to go and I must accept that. But when I think of her and see her in my mind, I will always see those lacy white angel wings. I also like to believe that she is reunited with that other little dog that my boyfriend and I had together and that they will stop by in my dreams every once in awhile to let me know that they're doing ok over there on the 'other' side.

The other pets are confused, as would be expected. Thankfully, Murphy is still with me and has been such a comfort. It turns out that sending Murphy to China via cargo is not such a good or safe idea, so he will be staying State-side for awhile, until the time when someone can take him on a passenger flight.

A Change of Venue

After much worry and frustration I decided to contact Kim, Murphy's previous owner, to see if she had any suggestions for dealing with his idiosyncracies. Turns out she never really wanted to part with him. He is a wonderful dog in many, many ways, and I don't blame her for feeling that way. So, long story short, Murphy is getting ready to take a plane ride to the place he could only hope to dig to -- China. I really feel like he belongs with his family instead of just a singleton. And in the new home, he will be the only pet and I think that will make him extremely happy. And there will always be someone around to give him a little TLC. I'm sure he will be so happy to see everyone. I have to remember these things to keep myself from being disappointed that it didn't work out. I've enjoyed our nightly walks and the bonding time we've had.

In just the past few days I have learned quite a bit about exporting pets to foreign countries. It takes a little bit of work to find all the pieces of the puzzle. Every government and commercial agency have info on their part of it, but are not extremely helpful in putting it all together. However, Kim has gotten all the pieces together and I am following her lead. We're still not sure when the actual parting will take place, but it will most likely be within the next week.