27/07/2026
Our dogs, they know our routines, our moods, the sound of our car in the drive, the exact moment we need a paw on our lap. My Yogi would watch intently as I began to cry at a film. Rushing to take my tears. His soft gaze would follow me round the room as I did my errands. Sometimes I would see him watch me, it would fill me with so much love, then we would cuddle.They love us before we've said a word, and if we watch closely they teach us how to live and how to find the beauty in everything.
Yogi has taught me so much about love, compassion and joy. He was also more than that though. I truly believe he was a healer.
When his dad had his ankle in a cast, Yogi stayed by his side, barely leaving him. And when I came home after my hysterectomy, in more pain than I'd ever known, he didn't leave me either. He licked my tears away, again and again, as if he somehow knew exactly what I needed, comfort, presence, love, without a single word. And those eyes...those big brown eyes, they read my soul.
Today I did our walk. The one we always did together. It was hard, harder than I expected, but I read something out loud that I wrote, as I went, the same path, the same bridges, just without his little legs trotting ahead of me.
And yet, somehow, he wasn't really absent at all.
I've had so many signs since he left, feathers where he used to lie, robins louder than I've ever heard, and today, butterflies. So many butterflies, dancing just ahead of me the whole way round, the exact distance he used to keep when he trotted along beside me. Some things you can't explain, you just feel them, and I felt him.
I can honestly say next to losing my Mam, I've never had so much pain. Going to bed and waking up without you cuddling in or washing my face. It's awful.
Yogi bear, thank you for every wag, every empathic look, every single ounce of love and joy you gave us, and for healing us in ways we're still discovering. We'll keep looking for you in the feathers and the butterflies.
You are my soulmate forever. My Mammy will take care of you now my little baby. Our hearts are completely broken π
π€π¦πͺΆ