Dogs like Max serve at a higher level.
Some people refer to them as old souls. I like to think of them as archangels.
When these archangels travel in the earthly vehicle of a dog, they come with a purpose. To guide those who have issues to resolve or have stones to skip across rough water, to protect, to reveal answers or bring messages, or, to help clear overgrown brambles before a path is walked. Their job varies.
I have known a few of these dogs and belonged to one in my lifetime.
One of these good dogs left recently much as two other canine archangels I knew did – without forewarning.
The house across the street is so still.
From the moment I met Max, I felt as if he had always been there, across the street. He just belonged there. The house resonated with his being.
The sadness there now is palpable and deep in contrast to the spring sun.
Boo won’t quit watching the house.
In the way that dogs know these things, Boo knows that Max is no longer there. She is filling in for her friend and carries on “the watch” over his people.
Dogs seem to feel very differently about this transition than we do. I wonder if it is because they are more primal – if it is because they understand it better than us – simply because they don’t understand it as we do.
Max was the quintessential good dog, just as his Mom said, when she told me about his leaving. She couldn’t be more right – he was friendly, funny, smart, loyal, good with other dogs, sweet, happy and up for anything – Max was a gamer.
In the morning she had a dog that was still bouncy, happy, loving – just a little lethargic. At one o’clock, she had a dog that needed surgery. At three-thirty, she no longer had a dog. How did this happen? When she said all of this to me I couldn’t answer because I don’t know. I wish I had knowledge that could provide some type of sense or comfort.
Though there is something that I do know – the specific reason this archangel Max came to walk the earth this time around.
It was for a boy and his Mom.
Good work, Max.
That’ll do.
