Second of two parts
Re “Not Just Another Dog (Story)”
I even was able to see that the dog was in a loving family.
I was sure they took good care of him. He looked clean and happy. He had a friend, a companion of his age. It should be nicer for him to eat and sleep with a friend than to be lonely in our house, remembering the old memories of Cocot, Minou, Caliber and Voltaire over and over.
Almost a month has passed since he disappeared from our home.
I worried.
I cried.
I grieved for him.
I still expect to open the door to our garden and see him. When I park the car, I think he will bark behind the gate to welcome me.
Many times I have walked around the block.
I have driven places we used to walk together in the vain hope of seeing, rediscovering finding him.
Finally, after a week, I saw in a dream that he and Minou were playing, laughing together. They were enjoying their meals, being with each other.
For me, this was a sign that he was dead, that I should let him go.
I thought to myself that I always have put others first.
Always, I have respected their happiness, given priority to their choices.
Now I should accept that in the spirit of what is good for Rebel and his new owners. I am not sure if Rebel had suffered or missed us?
Who knows? He is a dog after all.
We humans imagine a lot for them. He looked happy. His new owners looked natural, as if they had had this dog since he was a puppy.
They already have cared for him for almost a month. Undeniably, I saw that they loved him. Who would not like Rebel!
I told myself that I have already grieved for him. I do not have the energy to mourn again.
I saw what I had wished and had asked for.
What more could I ask?
I looked at my watch. The hour was late.
With heavy emotions, I turned on the ignition. I left behind my dog and his new family inside the store.
After all, the Parasha, the Torah reading, for this week was about Freedom.
Maybe this is what Rebel was wishing for!
Perhaps our poor Rebel is disappointed now because there is no real freedom in this world, especially for a dog.
As long as a human being will be there for him carrying a leash for our dog.
Dr. Rosemary Hartounian Cohen, who lives in the Fairfax District, received her Ph.D in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in two other countries before moving, with her husband and four children, to Los Angeles in 1984. She has published four books in America. Since 1985, she has operated Atelier de Paris, an international art business, on Robertson Boulevard. Her email address is Rosemary@atelierdeparis.com
