The Dish by Darcy

Dancer

My beautiful Dancer has passed away. She was almost 14 years old. I still can’t believe it, it happened so fast, she went so quickly and it hurts so much. The grief has turned me inside out.

She was out walking with me when she died. It was her favorite thing in the world to do. She sniffed something and left the trail just like she’d done a million times before. She walked a little ways and then she laid down and went to sleep. She died with her nose full of country scents and a light rain falling on her back.

The instant she died, I felt a tearing panic in my heart. I whirled around to find her and she wasn’t there. It was as if she never was. I called her to me and called again and again, my voice catching in my throat, and she didn’t come. When we found her, she was a stone’s throw away from me, laying camouflaged in the prairie grass that she loved so much. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully and could stand up and keep on going. I’m glad she knew I was right there when she died.

Dancer came to me in a dream the night she died. It was so real. In the dream, she was trotting to me like she’d always done, her eyes on mine and a big happy Terv smile on her face. Her coat was full and shiny and she was whole and well. I like to think that she came to me in my sleep to tell me that she would have come to me when I called her if she could have. That I shouldn’t worry about her. That she’s perfectly okay now and that she’s not alone. The SitStay Dogs who passed before her are with her. They are a team again.

I’ll post more about Dancer. I have tons of stories. She was so funny and intelligent. There is more to her passing. It has to do with tracking dogs. I just can’t talk about it yet. Give me another day or so and I’ll share. I promise.

Here’s a good close up of her. You can see another more recent photo under About Darcie. We were so good together.