I know that some will say Danny can’t possibly be with Madison because dogs don’t go to heaven. My response to that is, how do you know? How does anybody really know what heaven is like? Some say heaven doesn’t exist. Some people will say it’s in the bible that there are no animals in heaven. Well it’s also in the bible that God created everything, even the animals; so if animals are created by God why wouldn’t they be in heaven? This is not exactly where I intended this post to go, but c’est la vie. I’ve heard it said that in heaven we are in a perfect state of being so we don’t need animals. This is man’s interpretation. We are all fallible humans, we interpret what we read but is our interpretation completely correct? I know I may sound like a doubting Thomas but unless you have been to heaven and came back with undeniable proof that there are no animals or pets in heaven, I will choose to believe that my sweet girl gets to see her “treasure” again. She loved that dog so much and he adored her.
“All Dogs Go to Heaven” is a movie that Madison only watched I think once. She couldn’t bear the thought of a dog, especially one of our dogs dying. When we got Danny for Madison in 2006 it was in part to help her recover after spine surgery that she had a few months earlier. We thought Danny would encourage Madison to move around more. We thought playing with him would be good light exercise for her and it was. Danny’s main role though was comfort. Madison loved him deeply and would talk to him about things she thought she couldn’t share with anyone else and he was devoted to her. He rarely left her side; he would wait for her to come home from school by sitting next to the front door or in her bedroom. We tried several times to take him outside to run while Madison sat on a blanket to watch. Every time when he realized she wasn’t running he would go sit next to her and not budge.
Danny wasn’t the perfect dog but we loved him. After we lost Madison, Danny would still look for her and wait for her to come home. This was so sad to watch, but eventually after many months he found a new routine, we all did. Before Madison’s heart surgery she willed him to Derric. When Derric moved to Knoxville he took over much of Danny’s care. They bonded and Danny had a new favorite. As Danny aged he developed some serious and irreversible health conditions. Derric and Leslie have taken great care of Danny during the last year of his life. They have loved him and doted over him and basically adjusted their lives around his needs. They have been wonderful dogie parents.
Losing Danny is like losing a small earthly connection to Madison because she loved and treasured him. Loving Danny was another way to honor and love her. Danny went peacefully surrounded by much love. I choose to believe that Madison and Danny are both in heaven and doing things they couldn’t do together when she was alive, like running. Happy birthday baby, we miss you so much and Danny too.
