Thanks Jabber & Di for sharing. You are right, Jabber, it is exactly like having your breath knocked out of you. And then you try every day to get your breath back. The strangest thing happened after Shadow died. Two days later, a dog that looked so much like Shadow that it made our hearts jump appeared across the street. Our older dog Smokey sat on the front porch, fixated with this puppy who acted and looked so much like his dear companion. We had moved recently and didn't know the neighbors - so after a few days, I went over and introduced myself & asked the woman where she got her dog. She told me that a co-worker had been suddenly transferred and couldn't take the puppy he had just adopted, so she agreed to take her: Stella. We have watched Stella every day, jumping, digging, peeking around the tree to spy at us! She is growing bigger than Shadow ever was, but her body language is SO much like Shadow! When I told my sisters about this phenom, they both asked me if this was painful. I told them - No! It's not painful, it's beautiful! I love seeing the doggie-energy of the lovely Stella! In the midst of trying to get over the loss of Shadow, seeing the puppy Stella has actually been a part of the healing process. Dog - it's not surprising that it is God spelled backwards.
Thanks again for sharing and have a blessed weekend,
Marsha