Painting dog inspires others and gives back to local charities

[@linda6987]

I’m currently watching Dagger’s story on my local PBS station. I needed to send you this. It is not my story, I believe it was from Reader’s Digest. “Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.” As they made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told the vet that they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, the vet felt the familiar catch in his throat as Belker‘s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that the vet wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. They all sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that dogs’ lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, “I know why.” Startled, they all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned the vet. He had never heard a more comforting explanation. He says that it changed the way he will try and live. “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.” 🐾♥️🐾 There is no pain like losing our cold nosed friends….