Photo courtesy of Donna

This is the story of Dylan’s Hearts, as told by my client, Donna G. This is the first of three posts. Please feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts and feedback. Enjoy!

Introduction

The Sufis believe when your heart is broken or your soul is wounded, your soul sends a light out into the universe. Somewhere, another soul sees the light and comes to help you. The wound is the place where the light enters.

And so it was with Dylan and me. He answered the call and immediately the fog of my life lifted. It had been there so long that I thought it belonged there, was meant to be there. I was almost comfortable with the sadness that was always close by.

By the time I was 27 years old, both of my parents and all grandparents had passed away. I have a brother who is married with children of his own. I have numerous cousins that I am close to and who have meant the world to me through the years. As the years passed, their lives grew fuller with their own children, and they moved further and further away from the reality of my life. I turned my attention to my work and became successful in my career. I was into my fifties when Dylan came into my life, wondering if I was ever going to be “Number One” to anyone. Dylan changed all of that the moment we met.

My love for Dylan is immense, just as my grief was when he passed away after just six short years here on this earth. With Rain’s help, I have come to know not only what a great gift he was while he walked beside me, but what a much greater gift he is as he helps me with my “whole hearted healing” that he is directing from the spiritual world.

This document is not for looking back, but for sharing facts that I know to be true to help everyone who knows the pain of losing a beloved animal companion, or anyone on their own journey trying to understand the things that cannot be proven.

Photo by Diane Lewis (pet photographer)

Chapter 1

“When we walk to the edge of all the light we have, and take a step into the unknown, we must believe one of two things will happen. There will be solid ground to stand on, or we will be taught to fly!” Patrick Overton

Death is not the end. It is the beginning.

Dylan died of lymphoma after a courageous battle. He kept his joyous outlook on life until the very end. He never complained and his team of veterinarians at NC State University were amazed at his endurance and happy attitude throughout his treatments. Dylan did so well that when we met our neighbors on our walk around the neighborhood, they could not believe he was dealing with a terminal illness. I sometimes forgot, too, and thought Dylan would be the one that beat the odds. Sadly, it was not to be and Dylan died six years to the very day I brought him home.

It is not the purpose of Dylan’s story to look backwards, but rather to relay the miraculous events since Dylan passed over. But, the one thing that must be said for background is that I have lived with dogs in my family all of my life; most of the time multiple dogs at once. I was in my mid fifties when I brought Dylan home and he changed my life. With his unconditional love, his playful and joyful outlook, his courage and determination, he taught me not to waste a moment. He taught me to be present and aware so as not to miss all the wonder around each of us every day. And, most of all, he taught me that love is stronger than death.

I knew early on in our time together that Dylan was “the dog of my lifetime.” It was only after he passed over that I fully understood just how right I was!