Love, loss and a dog's purpose

The day we got our bloodhound puppy, Maggie, I looked at my husband and said, "We're going to have to say goodbye to her one day." Everyone who has ever loved a dog has felt this kind of anticipatory grief. We know that a special bond with a dog comes with an expiration date. Or does it? There's a new book coming out in September by Cathryn Michon, and I had the honor of reading an advance copy. It's called "I'm Still Here: A Dog's Purpose Forever." This book captures all of the complicated feelings experienced when a fur baby crosses that inevitable rainbow bridge. Told from the point of view of an angel dog, it is loaded with advice and insights, funny and poignant, from an angel dog who's been both *here* and *there.* From chicken treats and chasing balls to the final gentle goodbyes we are entrusted with, the narrating angel dog guides the reader through all the feelings, with grace and humor. So many times reading these pages, which include gorgeous watercolor images of dogs, I thought of the many doggos I've loved in my life and what each one brought to me. Memories of the vivid dreams I've had of them since they've passed came back to me. Maggie returned in a dream, riding in the back of the yellow pickup truck we owned when she was young. She came home from a ride with Dad, wagging her tail and barking to get my attention. I waved to her from an upstairs bedroom window.In another dream, Bella, the yellow lab we adopted in her senior years, also returned. She simply walked into the kitchen to say hello. I dropped to the floor, put my fingers in her fur and told her over and over how much I missed her. These dreams felt so real, and reading "I'm Still Here" validated how real they truly were. Michon and her angel dog don't miss any of the moments that make loving a dog so special. Perhaps the most powerful part of the book is the way the angel dog, inspired by Michon's own dog Tucker, gives a grieving reader permission to love another dog. Once someone understands the love of a dog, we also understand that it is overwhelming to hold all that love inside once they have crossed the rainbow bridge. In the void of grief, there is so much love with seemingly nowhere to go. But the answer is not to never love another dog but to understand that no matter what, the soul of your dog is still here and will return to you time and again, in your dreams, in your memories and perhaps even reincarnated in the next dog you love. I'll never forget the night I woke to Bella woofing in her sleep. It's not something she ever did. But Maggie, who had since passed, was vocal in her dreams all the time. My husband woke up too, and we both looked at each other. "She sounds just like Maggie," I said to him. I felt like Maggie had visited us through Bella. Maybe she really had.This book makes a great gift for anyone who has ever loved and lost a beloved dog, regardless of if the grief is fresh or it has been years. To hear the advice and insights from this special angel dog will make you smile, will help you remember and will give your love of dogs a new place to flow.Check out Feldkamp's weekly YouTube videos at https://www.youtube.com/bonniejeanfeldkamp.