[Magdalen] Westminster.

[Ann Markle]

Rick, I had a huge depression when I lost Tessa, the PUPPY that I got the
day before my ordination to the priesthood.  She was also the first dog I
owned as an adult, and I thought I would die when she disappeared.  She was
(so I thought) my soul mate, THE DOG of my life, and was born on my
daughter's birthday.  She was very big on empathy, and saw me through many
trials and tribulations, including my brother's final illness and death,
and the major depression that followed that.  But I'm here to say that life
goes on, and other very good dogs do come to us.  My advice is to rescue
your next one -- there's also a very special bond that forms from that, IMO.

Ann

The Rev. Ann Markle
Buffalo, NY
ann.markle at aya.yale.edu
blog:  www.onewildandpreciouslife.typepad.com

On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 10:30 PM, Rick Mashburn <ricklmashburn at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I couldn't have asked for a better match than Malcolm - my Cavalier King
> Charles Spaniel who turned 6 on December 20. (How does the time go so
> fast???) He didn't get the empathetic gene...he's oblivious to my
> moods...but otherwise he and I are very well matched.
>
> He's the first dog I've owned as an adult. I'm quite concerned that I may
> not be able to function on the day he crosses the Rainbow Bridge. That's
> probably why I cried like a baby at the thought of Isis dying on Downton
> Abbey this week.
>