He was an awesome dog and an awesome Spirit.His Spirit was friends with my Spirit.
And he nurtured my soul, and hopefully, I gave him enough in return.
I realize that, even though he was a dog, he was a unique, unrepeatable spirit unlike any other. The technology exists to clone him genetically, but he, as a sum total of his nurturing and naturing, was unique.
And he held a unique place in this World for me.
I made new friends yesterday. I had left Perro at the hospital (thinking that he was going to get better). But I was grieving his illness, and so when a neighbor (name starts with the initial S) who I'd been casually conversing with here and now for months invited me over, I ended up spending the entire evening at their house, smoking and drinking and talking. They are a family of four, and a bunch of their friends were there as well. S's husband T told me that he was born Muslim, and that he has studied all religions - and that he realized that all religions basically say the same thing: "God is Within Us."
So we are all unique and we all carry God within. (Later, when I talked about this with a Shaman I met randomly, he corrected me to say that actually, his view is slightly different. He says that actually, the correct statement is that "God is Within All Beings" - not just humans. I agreed with him that that was a better statement. Because it included Perro.)
(February 14th update: Since, I've thought about this a bit more and I think now the correct statement is "God is Everywhere." Buddhists have a way of placing a lot of importance to serving the other, but in a very self conscious way. And Christianity says that humans sin and that we must seek God which is without (outside of us). So I think the correct statement is that God is both within and without. Indeed, God is everywhere you want to be. Just like American Express.)
I've heard a Buddhist teaching that says that there are 6 billion paths to Peace (now 7 billion). They say that each human being represents a new opportunity for Peace. We are, each one of us, all opportunities for a better World. We are given this lifetime to show our true colors and shine through all the adversity, in order to be representations of the God that we wish for. And God is Love, above all else. Both God and Love are pregnant with infinite possibilities, IMHO.
I believe that this principal even extends to puppies like Perro. He was a unique, unrepeatable angel on earth, a symbol of good and love. Perro was my teacher. He taught me love, when all else felt concluded. When I was younger, he nourished my heart, and loved me back to life when I could have deserted it. He pawed at my hands, and gave me something to hold onto. His spirit, and the existence of him, made me a believer - that anything is possible, to even a fool like me.
So here's a poem I wrote for Perro months ago (Sept 2009, to be exact).
I'm reprinting it here as a eulogy to my Puppy.
As your
Berro sticks out ("Berro" means "tongue," and "Perro" means "slurp")
Can’t I resist the temptation to
Dance with your paws
Eager to please, you
Feign deathly hunger
Getting no-where with your whines
Happily wagging your fuzz
In the hopes of getting lucky
Just barely short of desperation
Kissing the floor which I walk on
Lickity lickity lick
Making the floor very sticky
Nothing you do makes me angry
Owing to your grand cuteness
Perro you are my darling
Quite a shame you are a dog
Resting your chin on my arm
Slumber you do while you snore
Tickling me with your wet nose
Up you go with your whine
Vetting for lady luck’s smile
Wetting your appetite for more
Xciting tidbits to fall
You are so amazingly perfect
Zeus made you for me - and me for you!
Perro - I will miss you very very much.
Thank you for being my teacher.
You will always be my love.
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