For anyone who has ever lost a beloved pet....

"A faithful friend is the medicine of life." ~from the Apocrypha

Friends come in all shapes and sizes. My most precious came in a 7 pound bundle of fluffy fur and an endless licking tongue named Stormy. A faithful, tireless friend for eight years, she passed away on the evening of January 21, 2002. She has been more than a 'small part' of my little family, and a constant source of love, nurturing and healing energy to the hectic life I lead.

The last few weeks with Stormy had been, well, stormy. And now that the storm has passed, I grieve her loss with the same depth of any family member. She has been my nurturing mother, and my active child. She has been my companion, my teacher, my protector, and my friend. Our home is unbearably quiet, missing her spontaneous and joyful energy. Great big gobs of sorrow keep welling up as I remember and celebrate our time together and the very essence of who she was. I am thankful for Spencer's presence, yet both he and I seem out of kilter without her - an extension of ourselves suddenly gone. So accustomed were we to operating in tandem as a three-some.

A dear friend wrote a memorial to Stormy that she emailed late Monday night: "For Stormy, who wrapped her tail around our hearts", then added, "Journey well, sweet Stormy and stand guard at the gates of heaven until we meet again."

Another friend wrote, "I am so sorry to hear about sweet Stormy. I will always remember her licking baby Danielle's toes and making her laugh."

Another of Stormy's friends wrote, "'And time remembered is grief forgotten.'~ Algernon Charles Swinburne. With love and prayers for you, and sweet Stormy memories."

Still another wrote, "I will always remember the greetings that I got from Stormy when I would come to your place. She was the living doorbell. She would stand guard as your protector, not knowing me as anything other than a stranger. While craving attention, she returned the feelings of love that she received. She will be missed by all who knew her."

Such an outpouring of LOVE for the little being nicknamed Lover Dog. What a wonderful example of love and life she set!

"And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." Corinthians 13:13

Her enthusiasm for life, her boundless energy, voicing her wants and desires with an attitude, a nurturing soul - these and many more apt descriptions conjure up precious visions.

Creation

When God had made the earth and sky, the flowers and the trees, He then made all the animals, the fish, the birds, and bees. And when at last He'd finished, not one was quite the same. He said, "I'll walk this world of mine and give each one a name." And so He traveled far and wide, and everywhere He went, a little creature followed Him until its strength was spent. When all were named upon the Earth and in the sky and sea, the little creature said, "Dear Lord, there's no name left for me." Kindly the Father said to him, "I've left you to the end. I've turned my own name back to front and called you DOG, my friend".

- Author Unknown

Thank you for letting me pay tribute to one of God's very special Angels named *Stormy* who was such a gift to me.

"The only gift is a portion of thyself." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson