Open Your Heart, Love, and Go On

By Marilyn Swan

I recently had to put my 11-year-old Walker Coonhound, Daisy, to rest. She developed a very aggressive form of lymphoma which took her quickly. Needless to say, I was devastated and could not imagine finding another such loving companion. I had rescued her as a 5-year-old.

A good friend found this beautiful saying and showed it to me.

You can shed tears because they are gone,
or you can smile because they lived.

You can close you eyes and pray they will come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all that they left for you.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see them,
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember only that they are gone,
or you can cherish their memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind and feel empty,
or you can do what they would want...
​
SMILE, open your heart, love... and go on.
(Anonymous)

I certainly allowed myself time to grieve but this saying helped me pick up the phone and call a rescue that had listed a dog on Petfinder, Dixie. I am now in a trial adoption with a lovely English Coonhound/ Foxhound mix. She is very frightened now, but I am committed to working with her. Dixie's owner died in March 2020 and she had been in the shelter since then.

I keep this saying on my desk and certainly need to read it often to "get a grip" when I'm missing Daisy. I thought it's positive encouragement might help others.

​Editor's Note: Marilyn wrote a blog post about Daisy's thunderphobia several years ago. You can read it here.