Hi, my name is Fate. I lived in Ohio with my best friend Glen. I'm a big, black Newfoundland dog and
this is my tale. Oh, I know, dogs aren't suppose to think like our human friends much less tell a
story, but how else can I tell you about us? Personally, I think God gave me this one small power,
this last wish you might say. Best friends are hard too come by and I was one of those dogs who found
a best friend, one I'll always remember.
Glen was my best friend. He found me one day at the animal shelter in Toledo, Ohio. Oddly enough it
was by accident and my good fortune that Glen and I found one another. He had called the animal shelter asking if they had a Newfoundland. The nice lady there told him they rarely ever get that big dog at the shelter, but she took Glen's phone number and promised to let him know if one came in. This is where I came into the picture. As you might have guessed, I showed up two days later and found a new home! There isn't a lot of demand for Newfoundland dogs, so when Glen came and got me, I was a little scared. I wasn't sure how another family might take to me. I ended up at the animal shelter in the first place because of my size and I sure didn't want to go through that again. But, I knew the minute I looked into Glen's eyes, I had a new home, a home that would last.
I'm big, really big. I weigh about 135 pounds, my feet are the size of saucers, I can eat my weight
in dog food in two weeks time and my thick, black fur was a bear to keep neat and clean. But my
worse habit was I drooled something awful. Most humans can't stand that one small bad trait I carry,
but it's the way God made me. Glen accepted that part of me without question. He loved me for who I
was. He never seemed to mind when I drooled on his pants or his shirt, and he never got upset about
the back seat car windows. I slobbered on them constantly and they never looked clean!
During the summer it was the worse because when I panted from the heat, I drooled. Of course, I can't
understand the big deal about how cute it is when you see the same kind of drool coming out of those
tiny humans you have to carry around all the time on your hip. They drool and everyone thinks it cute. How come when I do, it isn't? I'll never understand that one.
He never went anywhere without me either. I was welcome everywhere he took me. He even took me to
work with him. But I was lucky, you see, Glen worked for a veterinarian and I was able to go with
him. I saw all kinds of different animals there. Some were sick, some were happy, some were sad.
Even so, I knew at the end of the day I was going home with Glen.
But, my time with Glen was short, not nearly as long as I would have wanted. But I have to admit,
God has made a special place for us pets. It's right here in heaven, a suburb you might call it.
A special place for all the pets on earth that died. Some died alone, some died from disease or abuse, some died happy, knowing their human friends were there up to the very end.
God made this part of heaven just for us pets. There is no pain here, no abandonment from owners who
suddenly decide they don't want us, no hunger. We all play in beautiful meadows, and there are trees
all around. God turned clouds inside out and made beds for us. We don't have wings because we're made
to run and play and God knows this. We're all friends, all breeds enjoying each others stories about
our human friends. But, every now and then you can see one of our new friends just gazing off into
heaven, thinking, looking just a little sad. He misses someone special.
All the wishes we may ever had on earth are here in our part of heaven. But....I only wish for one
thing. I miss Glen.
But I do know, one day I'll be playing with my friends, and suddenly a familiar scent will drift
by me..."I know that scent! I know that scent!" I'll look up and strolling through the meadow, a
great big smile on his face will be Glen. He'll see me and start calling out my name and boy will
I run! I'll run so fast I'll knock him down onto the ground and we'll roll around, so happy to
finally see each other again! He'll stand and off we'll go, just like we did before, me by his
side, him by my side. Together at last.
