Over the past two days since we lost our beloved James, I have received an outpouring of messages from near and far. I can’t tell you how much it helps to hear from so, so many of you. James was loved by thousands.
I have been writing about James since I started my blog three years ago. Today, I have over 32,000 readers. You have all been following James’ meaningful therapy dog work. Through my posts, you have gotten a sense of what this special dog did to bring comfort and caring to hundreds of people over his 8-year career as a certified therapy dog. One reader wrote this to me:
While I have never met your wonderful James, even 3,000 miles away, he touched my heart. Thank you for sharing him with the world.
I cannot express how much those words have meant to me. In a separate message, she also wrote these words from Helen Keller:
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
An old friend of mine I haven’t seen in 30+ years, picked up the phone last night and called me from her home in Bradford, Vermont. She had been messaging me since she read about James’ passing in my post, but felt I might need a call.
The librarian at Westhampton Elementary School where James first piloted our Bright Spot Reading Buddy Program that has is now held in 8 elementary schools in Massachusetts, handed me a special children’s book to take home and read. It’s titled: Dog Heaven. It starts out: If you have ever been lucky enough to have a special dog in your life, then you know there is a place called Dog Heaven.
ALL of YOU, your love and support have helped far more than you can imagine. All of us, Dog Lovers, we all belong to the same club. We fall in love with these special beings that come into our lives and enrich it beyond words. We all know they will be with us for way-too-short a time, but what would our lives be like without them in it? Thank you all for being there for me.