Faithful Companions

They break our hearts. They don’t mean to—they wouldn’t hurt us for the world.

They’re never here long enough, and rarely outlive us. Yet once they come into our lives we never forget them.

The first dog Julee and I said farewell to together was Rudy, her burly cocker spaniel who introduced us one spring night on West 72nd Street.

We didn’t talk much about Rudy’s passing, perhaps because we immediately went out and got Sally; Julee simply refused to go home to an apartment that didn’t have a dog.

That night she skipped a performance in a musical she was featured in, the only time I’ve known her to miss a show (or let an understudy go on). I thought I was okay—Rudy had lived a long time and carried out his unique and preordained role in our lives.

But one day a few weeks later walking home from work I saw his ratty old dog bed poking up from the trash in front of our building. I sat down on the curb and just sobbed.

We’re on our third dog since Rudy, and saying goodbye never gets easier. It’s the price we pay for their indelible love, as author Dean Koontz so movingly writes about in the October 2009 issue of GUIDEPOSTS.

Dean believes he would not be the person he is today if Trixie hadn’t come into his life and changed his view of the world, changed him spiritually.

Many of you readers tell us you have a spiritual bond with your pets. We get letters every week in Prayer Fellowship asking prayers for pets. In fact, we’ve set up a page at guideposts.com/petprayers devoted to those prayers, along with pictures of your pets.

If you’re not online, send in a prayer and picture and we’ll post them for you.

Meanwhile, October is adopt-a-dog month. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?