Weekend update - no Jane Curtin

[greatbear]

Spent the weekend in PA with Jeff and his family units this weekend. Headed up Friday after work. This was also the start of the PA State Fair in Bloomsburg. Jeff and I took his parents once again to the fair. They enjoy getting out, eating fair food and looking at all the exhibits and whatnot. In addition to any imaginable fair (and not-so-fair) food, livestock exhibits, farm equipment, Larry The Cable Guy, rides, games and such, they have a 'dog show', which is a building showing off dogs for show and sale. Jeff, his mom and I went in, knowing full well that we might run into a pooch that would remind us of or beloved Bear. Well, we did, and the resemblance was downright spooky:



All three of us could barely contain our tears. The memories of what happened were still raw. But that is not the half of it. When we arrived a woman was fawning over the (unnamed) pup. She began telling us she just lost a similar dog after 14+ years. She was so tickled to see this one, but could never bring herself to get another one after all those years. While I can understand her feelings, at the same time one would only be depriving themselves the unconditional love that a pet provides, not to mention giving a deserving doggie a good home. We asked her what her Pom's name was.

It was Bear.

Here was a group of people brought together by a cute little pooch because they both had one like it, one had theirs for a (dog's) lifetime, the others had theirs taken from them way too soon. And with the same name.

It was what we could do to not take this pup home with us. but we felt the time was not right yet, and the resemblance too close. We went back later in the day and said our goodbyes and thanked our newfound furry friend for the memories he gave us. It was almost like saying goodbye to our Bear.

Comments

[bygbrat.livejournal.com]

great post! thanks for sharing!
big hugs

[beartech420.livejournal.com]

WOW total synchronicity! Both Carl Jung and the Pet Psychic would have climaxed if they were there with you.

My mom would never let us have a dog because she said "the pain they would leave you when they died". Of course that never stopped my sister from befriending the neighbor's dog! I always thought mom was a little crazy(throwing the baby out with the bathwater) till my ex's cat died and then you realize there was some truth there, and your crying when you look at a can of catnip.

If the Pet Psychic was there she would have seen 2 little happy dog spirits named Bear playing with each other while you were all grateful for the love they brought into your lives.
best regards,
pete

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

It is never too soon. In fact, bringing in the next generation allows for the continuation of life and to make sense of transitions. When my first love died a few years ago, we did not wait very long until we got Rachel. It was uncanny how that sweet little girl has enabled us to remain connected to the spirit of Charlie. Just as did Charlie, Rachel mothers us and is constantly at our side. When Maggie died last year, we knew we could not delay in getting another member for our family and thus we were joined by Nigel. Love is not something that keeps well, but is best put to continuous use. Go back and get the dog.

[fjdbear.livejournal.com]

*sobs*

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Jeff did contact the breeder where we got Bear and told them we want another dog. Hopefully we'll get word soon that there will be pooches available. We liked Bear's temperament and the breeder was highly recommended. We'll never be able to replace Bear, but we certainly cant deny ourselves the companionship and love of a dog. In fact, we plan on having two pooches eventually.

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

We were a single dog & cat family for about 5-6 years until my first partner died. About that time, my brother had a pair of goldens and his bitch was pregnant with her first litter. And my cat died. I got the pick of 10 and chose Maggie the runt. At first Charlie wanted no part of her, but a bond developed over the next 10 years and when Charlie died Maggie grieved. It is something Goldens do. Getting Rachel, a 6 week old Kelpie snapped her out of it and even though on the surface (for show) they did not get along, when you would spy on them, the story was quite different. Rachel and Nigel bonded the instant they met and have been an absolute joy to be with. I don't think we could be a single pup house again.