Souki
by: Angel Friend Jane

Saturday Ramblins, Vol. 1, No. 4 (June 6, 1998)

Souki was that once in a lifetime special dog by whom I was owned. She was a German Shepherd, Malamute and Golden Retriever mix. She was my constant companion, never leaving my side. She was my protector, if she growled at someone, I listened! She knew when I was hurting and laid her head in my lap; when I was sick she followed me everywhere, being careful not to trip me; when I was happy, she would talk to me (and yes, sass me).

She loved all people. When my father was in an accident and was placed in a skilled nursing facility briefly after the hospitalization, I would take her to visit him. She would say "Hi" to dad and then make her rounds to all the other patients.

She took special interest one woman, confined in a wheelchair, not speaking and seemingly in a catatonic state. Souki visited her every time, easing her head under the woman's hand; she'd stay there for about five minutes before moving on. During the last few visits, when Souki approached this lady, she slowly raise her hand so Souki could slip her head in. The nurses thought it was a miracle. I knew it was Souki, my angel, doing God's work.

You can imagine my utter devastation when I came home from work one day to find her crumpled in a heap – dead. She had apparently died while walking across the living room. I was crushed and inconsolable that I wasn't home for Souki and didn't hold her while she died. After all she had done for me, I was not there for her when she needed me.

In that first month, I had many dreams reliving our moments together. However, one month to the night she died, I had a special dream. In my dream I knew that Souki was gone so when she suddenly appeared, I was shocked. I sat down and Souki climbed in my arms and I held her, said goodbye to her and thanked her for her love and faithfulness. I have absolutely no doubt that this was not just another dream—that, in fact, God let her come back to me so I could say goodbye.

Besides the certainty that I could still feel her in my arms, how do I know this? Sasha, my other dog, who had never let me cuddle her and always pulled out of any embrace, was sitting-up looking at me with wide eyes when I woke up. Then Sasha came over to me, crawled into my arms and let me hold her for a long time; from that night on, she enjoyed being hugged and cuddled. You see, before Souki left me that night in my dream, she went to Sasha and was intently nose to nose communicating with her-- and then was gone.

Our pets never leave us, God lets them become like angels and still watch over us!

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