When Heartstrings are Touched

Our dogs remain forever in our hearts
written by Sister Cecelia, Prioress

It seems dogs do not live as long as we, and big dogs have even shorter lives.  A person who takes on the responsibility of a dog—or many dogs—is in for incomprehensible joys, sorrows, worries, marvelous awe, and delight.

This year I lost my dear companion Jeck.  I was rarely out of Jeck’s sight.  People visiting me at the monastery would need to step over him (not an easy feat, he was a big dog) to get into my office.  Often he lay next to the glass doors to the bakery, watching the activity and hoping someone would sneak him a cheesecake morsel If anyone was looking for me and saw Jeck, they knew I was close by.

In my grieving for Jeck, I found myself reflecting on dogs I had cared for over the years.  I no longer thought about what I lost with their passing, but about what I had gained from our time together.

Jeck lying at bakery door. 
Photo courtesy of Charlie Samuel, Saratoga Springs. 
Use of this photo without written consent from photographer is prohibited.

My first dog love at New Skete was a German Shepherd dog named Ina. She had been raised by one of the other nuns until she was about 7 months old and then given to a couple who had helped the monks get started with their dog program. Several months later she was returned to the monastery as the couple could no longer care for her.  The monks decided that either Ina or Brite would be offered to me to live at the nuns’ monastery, also known as Our Lady of the Sign.  When I went to the kennel to see the two dogs, Ina recognized me.  She was jumping for joy and barking her great delight.  Brite, on the other hand, looked quite content staying with the monks. So Ina and I returned to Our Lady of the Sign. 

Every dog has its own personality, and Ina’s was a real challenge. She had big ears and a long nose, but they seemed to fit and she was so very beautiful.   Her eyes were a reddish brown, which her previous owners said were a sign of intelligence!  She was smart! She was a real companion and was excited about a great many things. She and the cat got along quite well. The cat would sit on the top of the couch or chair, and Ina would be on the floor gazing intently up at her. She did not chase the cat in the house, but when they got outside it was royal fun! The sisters discovered if they asked her where the cat was, she would get all excited and dash to the door the cat usually used. There was a cache of candy and nuts in the room next to mine. Ina let me know when she needed to “go” out and I would ask her, “you need to go outside?   No candy!”  She would race to the door and many times go straight to the candy Cache.  I would scold her and take her back to the room.  She would still try the same trick every once in a while.  On occasion, it would make me want a piece of candy or some nuts, and if so, she would get some too. 

She was very protective of me.  Anyone moving quickly toward me would find a barrier in the shape of a German Shepherd.   Ina immediately warmed up to anyone who was effusive with her and glad to see her.   However, she was always on guard with anyone who was frightened of her or appeared angry.

When Ina was retired from the breeding program and we were looking to place her in her forever home, I was very nervous to think about finding the right family for her.  She needed someone who could understand her intelligence and her need for mental activity and who was able to handle a protective dog.   It did take more than a year to find the right person.  A young man who was knowledgeable about how to handle dogs was looking for one who would bark when the phone or doorbell rang.  His father was hard of hearing, and he would hear Ina bark. Jeremy, the new owner, picked her up on the day Desert Storm started.   She lived nearly another 7 years before passing on.

One of my later dogs was a gift to the monks from a family that could no longer keep him because their work had changed, requiring a move to another place where they could not have a dog. I was again without a dog to care for, and it was time for another dog.   When I went to look at three possible choices for my next dog, the eyes of one dog caught mine.  I think I read in those eyes that he wanted to be with me.  So it was that Sky moved in with us at Our Lady of the Sign; we chose each other.  

Sky had been well trained by his previous owner.  One day when we were out taking our daily exercise together, a deer popped out of the trees, and Sky was giving chase.  I called him—“Sky, Come!”— and he made a perfect right-angle turn and headed in my direction.  I was thoroughly delighted to find that I did not require him to be on a leash for our daily walks.  Even when he was a good distance away from me, he always returned when called.  Sky stayed with me until he went to live with his forever family, who enjoyed many years with him.

It is always so sad to hear of dogs passing away and with their absence the void that is left for their owners. It took Sky’s owner a while but he recently wrote that he now has a female German Shepherd dog.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Saint Francis of Assisi