Yesterday I took a call from a pet owner who lost their sweet 16 year old Shih Tzu last week. She found the heart shaped pet urn with angel wings and had some questions about the engraving.
She sounded young on the phone, but was a “mature” woman and her story was that growing up, her mother never allowed dogs. Ever. Because she’d never had a dog, she passed that on to her child. At some point the little girl wanted a lop eared bunny and obsessed over it.
Teachers at her school mentioned to the parents that she talked about getting a bunny often. The parents decided to go bunny shopping. Well, turns out that this fluffy bunny grew into a large aggressive rabbit measuring about 14 inches long. It did not like to be handled and if you did, you better wear gloves, like the kind you would wear to handle a falcon. It was a disaster.
On shopping trips to the neighborhood pet store to get rabbit food, her daughter would always check out the puppies and plead for mom to come take a look. The answer was always “no, let’s just get the food and go.” But one day the universe shifted, and mother strolled over to take a look. She let the little girl hold the puppy. And then? She did. The puppy nuzzled and kissed her neck. She fell in love.
In the car on the way home, the two called Dad at work, “How much do you love us?” the daughter asked. “How much is it going to cost me?” he replied. After the girl pled her case, he agreed to stop by the store and take a look.
As children age and spread their wings, the dogs become our kids, and that’s what happened here. Even HER aging mom fell in love with that dog. Later in life, the grandmother moved in as she needed more care. Laying on the couch, the pup would snuggle with her and lay near her head. She was surprised that her mother allowed it. She’d been smitten too.
“Are you ready for another dog?” I asked. It’s only been a week, but with older dogs, the care they require can take a toll at the end. Physically, emotionally, and financially. “Not yet.” she said.
She’d spent the last couple of years running back and forth to the vet. This breed tends to have a lot of eye problems as they age. And after this past week, she was tired.
Believe it or not, the conversation took a turn to online shopping and she tipped me to her favorite website for clothes, which I am terrified of buying without touching and trying on. I was excited to get a highly recommended lead, and after our call, I checked it out, and hated everything! Not my style. It was interesting though, to make a solid connection with this person thousands of miles away, feel the joy and pain in her world, and be worlds apart on fashion, which most people form first impressions on. It reminded me about the old “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” adage and how true it is.
Anyway, about the white heart she picked. It’s a medium size that comes in 3 colors, white (that’s what she picked), pearl blue, and lavender.
They engrave beautifully, although you are limited on how much text you can have. She was torn between paw prints and angel wings, but decided on the wings for her little angel, because that’s what she was.