The dog who brought us back to life
My senior year of high school was tough. One of my best friends died, and on the day of her funeral my dad had a massive heart attack. He briefly died before being revitalized, but then was in a coma. When he woke up days later, the doctor told us to take him home to die.
By sheer willpower my dad proved the medical field wrong, but he went from being healthy and in the prime of his career to disabled. Everything changed.
Soon after, our family dog died, and it felt like life really couldn’t get worse. It was hard to find anything to smile about.
One afternoon, I decided to visit a humane society, just to be around animals. I told my parents I was headed out, and my mom told me sternly not to ask to bring home a dog. I agreed. I knew she was dealing with enough change and wasn’t ready for another dog yet.
Before I got to the door, she warned me again. I nodded. But a moment later she decided to join me.
My dad is no fool, and he knew more than my mom and me what was about to happen. Call it intuition, or maybe just knowing his wife better than she knew herself.
“I might as well come with, to see who you pick out,” he said. My mom reiterated WE WERE NOT GETTING A DOG, and then we helped him to the car.
We walked into Tri-County Humane Society and smiled when we saw all the dogs. Among the kennels was a three-month old puppy with blackish-brown fur. We brought her to the outside play area.
My dad settled into a chair to rest while my mom and I tried to play with the puppy. But despite her young age, she wasn’t interested. She headed straight for my dad and rested her head on his knee. She spent most of our visit near him, gentle as could be. We all smiled at her sweetness.
After a nice visit, it was time to bring the puppy back inside. Along the way, we passed a plaque dedicated to animals who didn’t get the chance to be adopted. We stopped and read it, trying not to cry. My mom looked at me and asked what we should name her.
In that moment, I was not a fool either. I did not remind her of her stern warning that we WERE NOT GETTING A DOG. I stood quietly as we both looked to my dad. He thought Emmie was the right name for her.
We filled out an application and soon after headed home with our newest family member.
Emmie turned out to be an earth angel. Despite her young age, she hardly ever chewed or got into mischief. I think she sensed she had a very important job ahead of her, and she needed to get right to work. She seemed to know we all needed her help.
I really don’t know what we would have done without Emmie. She brought life back into our house, and so much happiness too. Her essence was pure love.
Emmie only lived six years before developing a rare disease. Every effort was made to help her recover, but it was not to be.
After she died, the university asked if they could study her body. But despite their expertise, they could not figure out what caused her death. I think I know. Emmie’s purpose was to help our family, and she had completed her mission, above and beyond. Her work here was done.