His Spirit Remained With Us

Have you ever wondered what happens to your beloved pet after they die? Although I am not the person who would go and hire a pet psychic, nor do I watch medium shows, I’m happy to say that those furry ones we love stay close even after they pass.

Eddie was the first dog we got for our little family. It was just me and my son Max, and by the time he turned fourteen, he was desperate to have a dog. I was reluctant because my experience with dogs was that they were as much work as having horses. Growing up, my family’s household had dogs, big yard animals that ran around the five-acre property my family had in the eternal summers of Cali, Colombia. They slept in elaborate sheds that my grandfather built for them and required massive amounts of food and at least two people to wash each one with a hose, an ordeal that seemed to take all day.

Eventually, I caved into my kid’s need for a furry companion and got to find a rescue dog that would fit our lifestyle. We lived in an apartment now, and I didn’t want to spend my days brushing hair from the furniture, so I found the perfect solution: a 15-pound Shih Tzu from a small rescue organization nearby. The picture showed something resembling a dirty mop, so long and matted was his hair, and he was listed under the not-so-flattering name T-Top.

It took a few days for the volunteers at the shelter, a group of retirees, to finally get the little mop to me. That day when Max returned from school, his reaction was not what I expected.

“Why didn’t you ask me what I wanted? I wanted a black dog.”

Of course he did; it was back in his teenage Emo phase. But after a few moments of hesitation, my son was all in. We tried to bathe the dog, but he was so matted the water just bounced on top. We found a groomer that would take him the next day, and when I came back to pick him up, he was unrecognizable. I had left a greyish mop that smelled like cattle and came back to a cloud-white dog with pink undertones on his skin. He was gorgeous. We decided he needed a new name. A rock star name. We called him Eddie Van Halen.

Eddie was tame but not exactly a lap dog. He would come up on the couch when I was there but shy away and move if I tried to come closer. The same was with any visitors: Eddie would come close enough to see what was going on but skittishly walk away if they wanted to pet him. The only person he would cuddle with was Max. The bond between the two of them was amazing to watch. The fidgety dog that would make sure to keep a distance from other people would not leave his boy’s side. They would cuddle all night to sleep and walk around the house like twins all day.

But Eddie was already an adult when we got him, maybe eight or so. So after a few years, he got cancer, and in a few weeks, he was consumed. The day we put him down was one of the most challenging days of our lives. We kept his ashes, and Max took them with him when he went off to college. And then, something extraordinary happened.

Max had decided to do some Reiki healing for some health issues that had been bothering him. One day during a session, he entered a meditative state. Then the healer said:

“There is a loving presence here with us; it feels like a dog, and I think it is a white dog.” Then she kept doing her hand movements around Max and stopped to comment: “he’s very skittish. I know he wants to be close to you, but he walks away whenever I move toward him and finds another place to sit.”

Max answered with an immense sense of love: “that’s Eddie. I knew he would always be with me.”

To this day, we are convinced that our furry friends will stay with us. Max has moved a few more times, and Eddie's ashes always come with him. Then one day, he decided it was time to make a new friend. That day, as he arrived at a shelter, one of the dogs escaped his kennel and ran to him, carrying his chew toy, a little hobo bag. It was a white Shih Tzu. The shelter volunteers were amazed and delighted.

“So this is your new friend, eh?” one of them asked.

Max was on his knees, hugging the little white dog.

“Yes. And he comes highly recommended.”