It's A Dog's Life

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Rowan Spends Time With his Guardian

Yesterday when us dogs were woofing on the internets my good friend Grendel (butt sniffs to you Grendel) told me that it would be nice to know more about The Last Day. So sad to report that one of Grendel’s cat friends recently had her Last Day and so it’s a subject of some importance for Grendel.

I guess it’s only natural for all of us who are breathing to want to know what happens when we stop. Towards this end I held my breath for awhile but nothing happened. That’s how I came to believe that there’s more to The Last Day than stopping breathing. But that bit of information didn’t explain much and I had lots of questions.

First I looked for the answers in my toy box, but there were only toys in there. And I looked for the answers in my bowl, but there was only food in it. Then I went outside and looked for the answers in the pretty stars. The stars did twinkle on me and make me happy, but they didn’t have the answers which eluded me all day either.

Finally, as a last resort, I went to my allknowing guardian. I suppose I could have gone to my guardian first. But, as you all know, I’m an independent boy. I like to think I can do things on my own.

My guardian picked me up and held me close, and she revealed to me the secrets of The Last Day:

“Rowan,” she said, “The Last Day will be the best day of your life.”

I didn’t really believe that because I’ve had some pretty good days. I’ve been to The Ranch, and I’ve been to The Gulf Of Mexico, and I’ve got lots of friends on account of being real popular and everything. But, I put up my big dog ears and kept listening.

My guardian talked in a special kind of voice that made me know that she was going to tell me something real important.

“Listen,” she said, “I want you to use your imagination because The Last Day is going to be so much fun that I can’t describe it as anything except an imaginary place, so different from our own world that I hardly have words for it.”

Now that was surprising for me because my guardian uses words all the time. She knows lots of them.

Then she went on by saying, “On The Last Day you will start to feel tired, and you will long for a good nap with all your heart. You may choose to stretch out in the cool grass, or curl up on your favorite pillow.”

Then I got an idea to say something! “I want to sleep with you,” I said and I jumped up and down and ran some circles around my guardian’s chair. I felt real good about my big idea but my guardian just sat there. Then I got back in my guardian’s lap.

I heard somewhere that if you are spending time with your guardian and you suddenly get all silly and start jumping and running and stuff, it’s OK. Just go right back to your guardian over and over. It’s OK.

So, when I was back in my guardian’s lap she petted me and smiled. I wanted to hear more about The Last Day real bad so I put my head on her shoulder and licked her ear. I was real quiet.

Then she said, “It doesn’t matter where you sleep dear Rowan, as long as you dream. Because you are going to have a wonderful dream.”

I couldn’t wait to hear what the dream was about so I asked, “Oh, what’s it about, please tell me, what’s the dream about?” And I got all wiggly and twisty and begged my guardian to reveal the contents of the dream to me. I wanted to know SO badly. But, my guardian just sat there and smiled. Then I got back in my guardian’s lap.

I think sometimes humans get all twisty and wiggly when they are with their guardians too. If that happens to you, it’s OK. Just get back in your guardian’s lap over and over. It’s alright.*

Then my guardian said, “Imagine you are in the best place you’ve ever been, you feel strong and alert, you are at the top of your game. You might even be running, or just walking along the shore.”

I thought real hard about that and I got an image of me looking real good and running the special way I do when I am happy: step, step, leap, step, step, leap…like that. Also, I imagined myself in my best pose because I do want to look good on The Last Day. And I was rather enjoying thinking about myself when my guardian continued:

“If you look around,” she said, “you will start to see other animals, you will recognize them and maybe even stop to play with them. All your friends from the blog will be there, your fellow canine bishops will be there, and +Maya too. You’ll see Romeo and Buddy. And your human friends will be there too.”

By this time I still didn’t know all that much about The Last Day but I had been in my guardian’s lap for a long time and I was starting to think about treats so, in a real holy kind of voice, I woofed into my guardian’s ear, “How about some treats?” And just to show that I’m a good communicator I ran into the kitchen to make my point. But my guardian just sat there. So, I wandered around the kitchen by myself for a minute and then I went and got back in my guardian’s lap. Again.

My guardian told me that one of the humans I would probably see is a nice fellow by the name of Martin Luther. He’s what Grendel would call a Major Dog Acceptor. Lindy showed me a picture of him once. I think he would be a nice petter. The very special thing about Martin Luther is that he is the one who gives us dogs our little golden tails. ** So, remember that dog friends. If you see Martin Luther be sure to ask him for a golden tail because, well, it would just be so swell to have one! Plus, he will probably pet us!

After that maybe you can see Jesus and, a’course he’s going to be all happy and laughing and everything. Jesus will definitely give us pets, I feel fairly confident of that. And Jesus’ mother will be there to welcome us to Dog Heaven. Saint Roch, Saint Francis, and MadPriest will be there too naturally and they will all play with us. I am sure one of them will have treats.

I was interested quite a lot at this point and my imaginary dream was going along pretty nicely so real quietly I said to my guardian, “You can tell me more, I am here.”

She smiled at me. I like that.

Then my guardian said, “Remember when I asked you to use your imagination?” And I thought real hard. But, it’s hard for me to remember everything she says and I was mainly thinking about treats again. “It’s alright,” she said. What I want you to know is that the dream is your own, it can progress however you want, and on The Last Day the dream will be real.”

Well, obviously, I have a bunch of things to think about. I still have lots of questions. But I am not concerned about The Last Day too much anymore. Like my human friends, I am now totally distracted and have forgotten where my guardian is.

As for The Last Day, until I get all the particulars worked out about all I can say for sure is, See You There.

Love,

Rowan

* "If you did nothing the whole of your hour but bring back your heart patiently and put it near your Lord again, and every time you put it back it turned away again, your hour would be well employed." Francois de Sales


** "Be thou comforted, little dog, Thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail" Martin Luther

17 Comments:

  • I LOVE the Martin Luther quote. It is one of my all time favorites.

    Your guardian did a lovely job of explaining the last day. Your guardian is one smart cookie.

    By Blogger Rockstar Mom, at 9:41 AM  

  • Oh Rowan. First of all I am so so so so happy to see you post!

    And this post about the Last Day... it is amazing.

    You are so wise and so wonderful, just as your Guardian is. She said some Very Wise Good Things to you and thank you for sharing them with us.

    You are a good dog, a great dog and I know you will always find comfort and peace.

    In the meantime, I am glad that you are here alive and well in the world. I see your sweet face every, single day on my fridge and that makes my heart leap with joy.

    And stepdaughter's heart too.

    The cat - well I am not sure he can see that high.

    We love you dearly Rowan.

    By Blogger Fran, at 12:27 PM  

  • Thank you and your guardian, Rowan, for this post. It's lovely and extremely important.

    By Blogger DogBlogger, at 4:07 PM  

  • Wow, Rowan,

    that's some Pretty Good Splaining!

    I guess it is a Good Thing that FooFoo had her Last Day. She was a Very Quiet Cat but I still liked her, she never hissed at me like The Pig does, only sat there all fluffy.

    Mom says I am Getting Older (I will splain about how later) and it makes her a a little Sad. I will tell her about the Last Day and then she won't be Sad any more.

    Please thank your guardian and give her some love (scritchings or licks or whatever)

    Peace out!

    Love and Gravy,

    Grendel

    By Blogger Grendel, at 8:41 AM  

  • Congratulations of getting older Grendel. I don't know what that is but it sounds impressive.

    The only kind of drawback to The Last Day is that it can have the unintended consequence of making our guardians feel sad and they get wet faces. It might be because they miss us so much between the time we go to Heaven and the time they get there. The humans are creatures who crave immediacy, you know.

    One other reason might be because us pets are the only ones to get the golden tails. I am pretty sure humans don't get them. They are probably jealous of this and, understandably, they are sad about that. I am sure it's a real handicap to go through life on this earth without a tail to balance you. But, to not get one in Heaven either is an especially cruel blow.

    But, besides it's possible negative impact on my guardian, I don't see any downside to The Last Day. I am already imagining mine!

    I love you Grendel, and so does my guardian. Have some gravy today!

    Your friend,

    Rowan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:21 AM  

  • That's exactly right Ms. Marianne. My guardian is one smart cookie, and she's so pretty too! She told me to say that.)

    Thank you dogblogger.

    I am glad you saw me this morning Fran. I love you too. And I love step-daughter. And I love that nice man who is sometimes in the pictures with you. And I love Jesus. And I love Grendel. And I love everyone because I am a dog and that's what dogs do. Too bad about the cat.

    Your friend,

    Rowan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:25 AM  

  • Thank you Rowan for such a wonderful golden tale! I read this to Boomer and Little Eddie and they want you to know they are happy here right now, but someday when all you all have had your Last Day, they will be happy to spend time playing with you and all the saints and angels and archangels and Martin Luther.

    I am looking forward to having my own golden tail, having not gotten to have one as a human. Good Dog, Rowan!

    By Blogger Kirkepiscatoid, at 10:45 AM  

  • Hey Rowan. We just clicked over and Aimee read your blog to me. Sounds real good. I think the humans get golden wings instead of tails. I'm not sure. At any rate, the days after the Last Day sound pretty great.

    We're enjoying the new neighborhood. There are so many squirrels here. I think I have terrorized about 10% so I still have a lot of work to do. Every time we go out for walks I make sure to terrorize a new squirrel. It's a big job but someone's got to do it.

    I have some new dog friends here. I even made friends with a pitbull. He lives next door. His human is gone a lot so he spends most of the day (and some of the night) howling. He just howls and howls and howls. Sometimes it annoys me and I bark at him through the walls but mostly I just feel sad that he doesn't have friends to play with. Diego came by and visited for a week. I liked seeing him. We had slumber parties every night.

    Hope you're doing well up there. We'll be seeing you soon hopefully!

    ~Romeo

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:05 PM  

  • Rowan, I came over here because Kirkepiscotoid told my mom to (she is typing this for me).

    I liked this explanation about the Last Day. I don't like to leave my mom ever, ever, ever, but you make me feel less worried about the last leaving. I hope I meet you in that new place.

    Smokey

    P.S. The vet cut off my tail when i was only two days old. Will I still get a golden one?

    By Blogger Ruth Hull Chatlien, at 6:32 PM  

  • Yea! It's my old pal Romeo! I've been woofing at Lindy to find your email address and contact you.

    We moved too! I have a dog door now and I can go out all by myself. This has made doing squirrel patrol much easier for me. There are two real big dogs on the other side of the fence who bark at me quite a lot. I think it's their way of being friends but Lindy told me to give them a "wide berth," whatever that is. Originally there were two openings in the fence which were just right for wiggling in and out. But, Lindy accidentally ruined them so I am limited to the fenced in areas. I don't think she realized what a negative impact this would have on my ability to get around the neighborhood. (Sometimes she's not too bright but I love her anyway, a'course.)

    I've had some big adventures that I'll post about soon. I love you Romeo!!! Licks and tail wags...

    Your friend,

    Rowan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:35 PM  

  • Dear Smokey,

    It's only natural to be a little bit scared. I mean, nobody knows what's really on the other side. Not even humans. But, when I was talking to my guardian one of the things she told me is that it will feel just like finally being home. for those of us who've had trouble finding a home and a family, that's pretty comforting. When you do get there,just look around for some friends. That's my advice.

    As for your golden tail. You'll have a magnificent one, I just know it.

    See you there!

    Love,

    Rowan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:41 PM  

  • Rowan: Please tell your mom that the vacation blog is up and running again. Thanks. I sent her an email to the only email address I have and it was returned. Bummer. Anyway, we are up and running again.

    Thanks!
    Dennis

    By Blogger Dennis, at 1:10 PM  

  • Hey Rowan. I finally got a real blogger blog of my own. I'm pretty excited about it.

    Mom types it out for me while she's at the laundry place. She's quite good at taking dictation, I must say.

    Sniff ya later!
    Romie

    By Blogger Romeo and Aimee, at 8:52 AM  

  • (((Rowan)))

    I was missing you. I'm sorry it took me so long to get over here.

    You are so wiser, you are teaching this pastor and this dog-mom every day.

    By Blogger Diane M. Roth, at 4:11 PM  

  • Rowan - prayers for healing. Shall I come there and beat up that other dog for you?

    By Blogger Ann, at 4:01 PM  

  • Hey, Rowan,

    I came by to see how you were feeling and to tell you that I am going to get my Golden Tail today! I am very excited and I can't wait!

    I hope to see you soon, but not too soon 'cause that would make your guardian sad. Get better soon!

    Love and Gravy,

    Grendel

    By Blogger Grendel, at 11:37 AM  

  • Well, Ann, it was kind of my fault for being such a friendly boy and wanting to play. I accidentally jumped over my fence and into the bad dog's yard. That's why he started chewing on me. I am real sorry about it. I still don't think he should have been so mad but, in the reverse of that situation, I might of done something similar. Not sure.

    But, I love you for wanting to fight for me.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:39 PM  

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