I came home from a wonderful wine tasting weekend with friends in October 2009 and saw two blackish dogs sitting on the front deck. We only had one when I left on Friday. My husband Tom had the perfect explanation. He had gone to local pet supply store to pick up food for Oscar, our large Scottie mix. They were having their weekend adoption event. He saw beautiful sad Sasha and fell in love at first sight. He was told that she was surrendered by her owner’s son when his mom’s dementia progressed to the point where she could no longer care for the dog she loved so dearly. Tom assured me that we could return her to the rescue group but one look at her would have made that an impossible choice.
Sasha became part of our family and her affection for Tom was always obvious. She followed him everywhere and would remain with him, even in the bathroom, until he moved to a new place. He had mobility issues resulting from a winning battle against bacterial meningitis so getting around was difficult. He loved sitting on our back deck and Sasha sat happily in his lap for hours watching our other dog Charlie chase bunnies and squirrels around the yard. It is hard to over estimate how much the love and companionship she gave Tom meant to him during a very challenging period.
When Tom was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, our family began a 11 month fight against this awful disease. Much of our time was spent at home with Sasha staying even closer to Tom. Tom’s battle ended on October 23, 2015, in our home on hospice. She stayed next to him until the end and very quickly recognized when he was gone. I believe she grieved for him just like we all did.
Sasha died on March 5 this year. The Rainbow Bridge is a wonderful poem about the death of a pet who has had a special love for a person. In the poem the pet goes to the Rainbow Bridge where they are young and healthy again and are united with the person they loved so deeply and served so faithfully. I miss Tom and Sasha every day but allow myself to be comforted by the wonderful story of the Rainbow Bridge.