Just last week my sister-in-law laid her dear chocolate lab, Emma Lee to rest.  On Sunday I went and said good bye to her.  I was sad, but at the same time took comfort in the fact Emma will be seeing her sister Rudi again (who died at the age of 4) and will also see my Cassie Jo.  They were the original “three brown dogs” as we called them.

When I got Cassie Jo, my sister-in-law got her two labs and they all became buddies.  Sometimes on weekends we would walk them in my sister-in-law’s large field.  We would sing to them (to the tune of three blind mice), “three brown dogs, three brown dogs, see how they run, see how they run.”  We didn’t know the rest of the words so would repeat over and over that verse as our dogs romped in the field.

I recently came across this great article, Why is it so Hard When a Pet Dies written by a veterinarian and thought this a good time to share.  I thought it was excellent in the fact that as a society I do think we need to really be more open and aware of those who love their animals deeply.  The grief is very real.  I am part of a support group that helps people grieving the loss of an animal.  It is amazing the stigma that is still attached to openly grieving for fear people will laugh or simply not understand.  Even if someone does not understand, I hope and pray they will treat that person with respect and dignity and accept the fact this is difficult for the person grieving.

When Cassie Jo passed away in the summer of 2005 I worried about Frankie and how she was without her big brown sister.  Emma Lee was so kind and came to stay with us for a few days… and Frankie took to her like her new best friend.  Below is the picture I got of them.  Still warms my heart to this day to look at the photo.  Rest in peace, dear sweet Emma…