Our dear, sweet 13 year old border collie-mix, Angel, died last Friday morning. It's difficult to put into words what Angel meant to our family. Anybody who has ever had a pet knows what it's like to receive unconditional love and loyalty every single minute from them. But once in a lifetime, there is that "larger than life" pet who leaves permanent paw prints on your heart. Angel is that pet for me.
My kids and I adopted Angel during a summer when our lives were in major turmoil. We had not celebrated Christmas together that year, so Angel was our late gift to ourselves. We named her "Angel Christmas", and what a gift she turned out to be.
Angel gave and gave to us her whole life. Besides unending love and loyalty, she gave us reasons to laugh again. She gave us a sense of safety and feeling protected. She gave us comfort and a distraction from the stifling stress. She gave us pride with her intelligence. She gave us warm, sincere companionship. And now even after her death, Angel keeps on giving. She's giving the gift of endless, happy memories when she was such a strong, fun part of our family.
Angel may be physically gone, but her special spirit will forever live in a warm corner of my heart.
