Your dog's inside with a bottle of Pinot Noir...

It was a sad couple hours tonight...I was just taking a quick nap (it's cold, it's dark, I need a nap just to get through the rest of the night) when my daughter knocked on the door...the neighbors were here and were crying...they had just come home and found their dog had died in front of the back door of the kitchen...

There are very few things that can wake me up instantly out of a nap, but that's one of them. Their beautiful dog Ice, was as striking as her name suggested...she was a husky rescue, with ice cold blue eyes, if she had been human she would've been Claudia Schiffer. She had a heart as big as her body, and I had been dreading this moment ever since she was diagnosed with diabetes two weeks ago. My neighbor was giving her insulin shots twice a day, but she continued to lose weight...but her death was still unexpected, she had appeared fine this morning, although my neighbor had mentioned, Ice had come up stairs last night to wake her up, but didn't want anything. That was the only unusual thing that happened in the last 24 hours.

It was heartbreaking to think that my neighbor and her young daughter had their beloved pet laying dead at their home, certainly, they didn't want to go back by themselves and who could blame them. We were lucky. My husband is a mortician. If there is one thing that doesn't spook him, it's death. My husband immediately took charge and went over to their house with the three of us sobbing behind him. The first thing my husband did was cover Ice with a blanket. And then he extended his sympathy. My neighbor worried that her dog might've suffered, my husband was pretty matter of fact...he normally is with animals...he was never raised with pets, and would probably never own a pet if he wasn't married to a crazy pet lover.
But he's learned to adapt. And wouldn't you know it, all the dogs in the house prefer him to me...But back to my neighbor..."Do you think Ice suffered," she asked. "Nope," said my husband, the rigor mortis is pretty set, she's been dead most of the day..." Yep. My husband has a way with words.

This past summer I had to put my mom's beloved pet down. It was brutal. Just the simple act of knowing, this is the last night this dog is ever going to have, the last breakfast...then you call the dog over, put a leash on him and drive him to the vet...and the dog does one of two things, he's excited because he's getting a car ride, or he's freaked out, because he's getting a car ride. My mom's dog was freaked out. You cry all the way to the vet. The receptionist say's "Hi, can I help you" and you say "I'm the one who called earlier about the dog..." Your sobbing like a baby, they put you in a room and well, I don't need to tell you the rest...it's a very peaceful death for the dog, well, except for all the wailing, and then you make the toughest decision; group cremation, or private, or do you want to bring the dog home for burial...you pay the bill...and, if you're me, notice that one of the vets kids is selling candy bars for school and buy about 5 bucks worth, and have them all eaten on the ride home.

Some people believe animals have no souls, I am not one of those people.
My whole family is Baptist because of ONE animal lover...no lie...my parents never went to church and then one day our dog died...that next Monday a couple of Jehovah Witnesses came to the door and my heartbroken father asked them "Do dogs go to heaven" in which they replied (something to the effect of) blah blah blah NO...to which my dad kicked them out of the house with "I'm not going anywhere where dogs aren't allowed"...
THE VERY NEXT WEEK...a baptist Sunday school teacher showed up at the door to which my dad asked the very same question..."Do dogs go to heaven" and he said "of course dogs go to heaven, in the bible it says that in heaven the lion will lay down with the lamb" (and not get eaten)...the VERY NEXT SUNDAY...my dad was in the baptist church...

I have a very simple belief when it comes to what happens to animals after death, and it's a combination of the bible and Actor Liam Neeson...from the bible, it's the bible verse (Matthew 10:29) that mentions how "not one sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing about it...it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it...a tiny bird dies-unnoticed to you or I, but God knows...followed by Liam Neeson's answer to one of the last questions from the TV show 'Inside the Actor's Studio' when he was asked what he hoped was one of the first things he'd hear when he entered the Pearly Gates..."You're wife's inside with a big chilled bottle of Pinot Noir.

When I pass from this earth, I truly hope I hear, your dog's inside with a big chilled bottle of Pinot Noir, I know I'll truly be in heaven...