A Dog’s Purpose
I got this in an email forward this morning, and thought I would post it here.
Part of the reason why I love working with children so much is that they have such a pure essence, a pure soul, that they can cut to the heart of an issue. Sometimes as adults we can over analyze, over think, and over speak an issue to death, and still never get anywhere! Children get right to the heart!
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old
Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife,
Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker,
and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the
family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform
the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it
would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure.
They felt as though Shane might learn something from the
experience
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s
family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old
dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was
going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any
difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s
death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are
shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly,
piped up, “I know why.”
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next
stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation.
He said, “People are born so that they can learn how to live a
good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice,
right?” The six-year-old continued, “Well, dogs already know
how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”
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