Sweet rest, dear Annie

As we did for Juliette, Gong and I poured a lot of time and energy into creating a beautiful and peaceful resting place for Annie. Gong built and rebuilt her casket three times to make sure it was exactly the right dimensions. He made a bed of a sheepskin rug that Annie loved to lay upon by our wood stove. He also used several of Annie’s favorite blankets that were infused with our smells, her smell, and Waylon’s smell to upholster the walls and create for her a comfy nest. We had a lovely service for Annie at her grave side during which we read her letters that we wrote as well as those of others who knew and loved and appreciated her wonderful presence. Gong and I were both moved by the letters, including those from our good friends Lizzie and Rachel and one from one of Annie’s former foster moms, Kathie Bell. Waylon was with us during the service, which, in retrospect, was perhaps not such a great idea. The ordeal of Annie’s illness and death has really taken a toll on him.

The loss of Annie has been enormous in our lives. I still finding myself re-creating the feeling of her coming over to rest her beautiful head in my lap while I sit on one of my favorite reading chairs. I try to conjure the image of her lying on the loverug in our home, a large circular rug where we all used to share lots of cuddles and scratches and kisses. The only consolation in this whole affair has been that Annie is now lying right next to our other sorely missed canine beauty, Juliette. We made sure that Annie would be oriented so as to face Jules, and we imagine the two girls whispering secrets to one another and making fun of us and Waylon, the family they shared in life, though not at the same time. We imagine Annie telling Juliette all about Willow and what a funny little girl she is. Whether or not this is indeed occurring, it helps me and Gong feel better to know that the girls are together and keeping one another company whenever we leave their gravesites. We used to feel so badly about leaving Julesie there alone.

Here are some photos of where our beauties are resting, as well as some of Willow, who came with us to place Annie’s headstone on her grave this past weekend. While Gong and I did not have the opportunity for deep and silent reflection on that day given Willow’s presence, she (Willow) reminded me that gravesites do not have to be somber places as she played on a concrete bench, rubbed sticks together, and generally infused the place with her inimitable style of life.