Love a Dog and Everything Gets Better

An old friend passed away yesterday after a long struggle with cancer. She was a dog lover (and animal lover generally), but dogs were really special to her. I think it is impossible to overstate what loving an animal means to a person like my friend, Mary. That particular connection of one soul to another with no need for words makes life a little less solitary.

In November 2014, when preparing to go into hospice care, Mary posted these words to friends on her social media forum:

As I've always said, "You never know when your number is up." I've been given more of a hint than most people get. Meanwhile, it's okay to talk to me about death, and mine in particular. I want to talk about it. So, no tiptoeing around the subject, please.... In the context of the universe and infinity, my whole life is an infinitesimal blip, as is the entirety of all lives on this tiny little planet in a vast universe (or multiverse). No need to dramatize it.

The photo above shows Mary a few years back with her last and much-loved dog. She was unable to keep another dog at the end of her life, but I hope the vast multiverse is piling on lots of loving lap dogs for her enjoyment now. R.I.P.