All Good Dogs Go To Heaven

This past weekend, our beloved family dog Max passed away. I knew Max's time was coming but when the call came, it was still a shock. People always say it, and it is true, to lose a pet is to truly lose a family member. We got Max when I was in college as a Christmas present. After the death of our first beloved collie (Daisey), my mom swore we would never get another dog. Hence the giant surprise at Christmas many years later. It was a masterful plan. After presents had been opened and my dad began to cook breakfast, my parents began asking us if it was a good Christmas. We all said yes but acknowledged it wasn't like when you were a kid where everything is a giant surprise. Man were we set up! The doorbell rang, and in walked my aunt with this little ball of fur, complete with a red bow around her neck. We named her Maxine (Max for short) and she became one of the crazier members of our family.

Max, if it's possible, was an even bigger spaz of a dog than Digby, in her younger years. Among my favorite memories is the time she climbed atop the kitchen table, ate and entire box of chocolate donuts (which would have killed an average dog), and then was stuck and couldn't get down, or hide the evidence. It was there we found her with a guilty look in her eye. Or the way she used to run across our sectional sofa barking anytime my mom ran the vacuum cleaner. Or the time when my now husband met her for the first time. He foolishly let a chicken wing down by his leg, and Max, with surgeon like precision, inhaled it (no chewing, just swallowing). The stories go on and on.

If you're a dog lover and you haven't read John Grogan's "Marley and Me," shame on you. He beautifully captures how these crazy dogs become such intimate members of our families. They make you laugh ( a lot), occasionally make you cry, and frequently make you mad--just like any other member of your family. Only these guys are permanently kids, never really get mad at you (for any length of time), and live for your affection.

When I told my husband about Max's passing I sobbed. I sobbed because we had lost a beloved member of our family. But I also sobbed because I distinctly remember losing our first dog Daisey. I was sixteen and had grown up with Daisey. I had lost my pal. One of my favorite pictures is of my mom kneeling next to Daisey. I sobbed because I know that Grace will one day lose her beloved "DiDi." My dad's call was all the more poignant because we had just come on from playing in the snow. My husband and I loved watching Grace run after Digby screeching "DiDi" as he did his part to plow the snow with his snout. I don't want Grace to feel that pain of loss but I also don't want her not to have a special pal growing up. Our pediatrician was right when he said having a pet teaches kids their first lessons in compassion. But what he didn't say was that it also teaches them how to be friends. Grace's best friend really is Digby. She pets him, tries to ride him, throws his ball to him, feeds with him a solemnity appropriate for Vatican functions, and loves that big, dumb dog in a way that's beautiful to watch. This is why I have to believe in my heart that all good dogs go to heaven.