Epilogue


Today marks the hundredth day since Hero left us. That fateful day is still fresh in our memory... and we miss him every single day.

Hero was admitted to the hospital for observation as he was having diarrhea and also he was feeling lethargic, due to his chronic kidney failure condition. He spent two nights at the veterinary hospital before he came home. He was happy coming home on that day, tail a wagging and excited as ever. We duly gave Hero a warm bath followed by his meal in the evening, and he retired to bed early on that fateful evening.

The clock was about half past ten at night when I went upstairs to check on Hero. He was sound asleep on his bed when I came into the room. As usual, I went about with my nightly routine of finishing some work with my laptop sitting on the sofa, facing Hero as he slumbered peacefully across the room. Not too long after, out of a sudden, I was startled by the sound of someone gasping for air. Hero was having difficulty breathing. As I watched helplessly, he went into a brief convulsion and remained motionless thereafter. In a panic stupor, I rushed over and shook him frantically, hoping to wake him up from his sleep. As I began to realize what happened, I was definitely not ready to accept reality, and reality came biting hard. The realization that Hero has been taken away from us at that very moment. That he had a heart attack in his sleep. We spent the rest of the night with Hero, gently stroking him and gave him hugs before his body was taken away. Hero was cremated the next day.


Since Hero's passing, there were many happenstances that reminded us of his presence. Bird feathers started dropping into our house from the ventilation grill above the roof, his name appearing everywhere we went, chestnuts (his favorite snack) falling onto our path when we were in London, and many more little signs that Hero gave us during the short period after his passing. He wanted us to know that his soul was still with us, looking out for us from above. Our little guardian angel.

Hero making sure we noticed his presence.

Even in faraway London, his presence was felt.

Life is never the same without Hero. We will always be grateful for the indelible journey he took us on over the last seven years where our lives were filled with fun, adventures, loyalty and unconditional love. Hero really left paw prints on our hearts and he will forever be our heart dog. Reminiscing our time together, here is a poem for an angel in Heaven. Rest in peace, Hero.

Paw prints on sandy beaches
Chestnuts and sandwich kisses
Wet licks with murmuring growls
Wagging tail with excited howls

Long walks at faraway park
Joyful rides we duly embark
Up the hills we would go a hiking
Down the streams we go a wading

Colorful rainbow over the mountain
Beautiful sunrise across the ocean
Reflecting on our adventures together
Sweet memories we will keep forever

For now, you may be far away
Until we meet again some day
Together again and never apart
You will be forever in our hearts


For a short video in memory of Hero, please click here.

15 comments:

Molly the Airedale said...

What a beautiful video and a gorgeous poem. They never really leave us. They live on it our hearts forever ♥
Hero was one special boy
((((hugs))) to all of you.

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

houndstooth said...

It's never easy to lose them, and Hero was a very special guy. This was a beautiful tribute to him!

Midori, Char Siew and Brita said...

I love this. Thank you for sharing memories of hero with us. He is indeed a special Shar Pei. Your story made me cry Hugs to everyone in your family.

Unknown said...

What a beautiful tribute to Hero! Hero always lives in our heart too!

sprinkles said...

Hero held a special place in my heart too, believe it or not. I miss him too.

I'm so sorry for your loss. This really was a lovely tribute to him.

Now I'm off to watch the video.

sprinkles said...

Just watched the video. Loved getting to see Hero through the years. I'm still wiping away the tears. Thank you for sharing!

Mango the Maltese kiddo said...

Hero was very special to Mango. They share the same birthday September 6th 2006. It has been 100 days since you left us. Did you leave us? We feel like you still have been around and ready for the next trip on the beach. We all miss you Hero. Love and hugs to you family from mine.

paulah said...

What a beautiful tribute! Thank you for sharing Hero's all too short journey. Hugs to you all.

Anonymous said...

6 months sincee we lost our shar pei Tommy. not a day goes by without missing him.

Kasha The Dainty Great Dane said...

Hello my long lost furiends humans. I have not been in blog and for quite a while now and was posting about Kasha and just now saw your post about one of Kasha's first dog blog furiends. I am so sorry to hear about Hero and sorry I wasn't there for you. I know how awful it is to lose our furry friends. I hope you are all doing well and I see little Ms. Mei Mei is growing into a beautiful little girl. Take care and thanks for being our blog friend.

Kasha and Hero are having a fun time at Rainbow Bridge exploring everything.

Denise

Mango the Maltese kiddo said...

Dear Hero,
Please check your email, thanks.

monica said...

Just saw this. So sorry for your loss... Hero had a wonderful life with you guys! All the best from Denmark- Monica and Bundy Bullmastiff

TimberLove said...

We stopped in to say hawwwoo, hope you & yours are well and finding peace,

RA

TimberLove said...

We thought of our Hero furiend today and wanted to stop by and look at some of his pictures. Leaving you our wishes for peace,

Nuk & Family

The Oceanside Animals said...

hello heros family its dennis the vizsla dog hay i wuz lukking at sum of my old posts tooday and saw wun of heros old komments and thawt i wood stop by and send sum tail wags to him!!! run free hero my old frend!!! ok bye