Bonnie

My "Bonnie" died in 1987 at the age of 13 while I was away at college. My mother found her early one morning lying very still on the kitchen floor. "Bonnie" was deaf so it was not uncommon for my mom to actually have to touch her to wake her.

This time, however, there was no waking her. I still feel guilty because I was too busy and too far away to get home to say goodbye. Also, consumed with my own developing life, I had neglected to pay her the attention that I had as a child. When I came home for holidays, I remember her coming to greet me with wagging tail and that silly grin that only a bully can have. But I was too busy to care. Now as an adult, I look back and wish I had done things differently.

I once heard the respected evangelist, Billy Graham, say that if we truly love an animal here on earth that God will make a place for that animal to be with us when we pass over.