Our dog always caused trouble. But she'd become family. Now I missed her mischief…

Many springs ago, we added a new member to our family; a black Labrador puppy. She was tiny and wiggly, soft as can be. My girls named her Abby. We promised the girls a puppy,I thought. I just hope we she won’t be too much trouble.Little did I know. Shortly after we brought Abby home, the girls came running in from the backyard. 

“Mom!  Mom!” they cried. “Abby was digging in your flower garden!” I hurried outside to find several holes in my neatly tended bed. Gone were my delicate pink bleeding hearts I'd spent so much time caring for. “Abby!” I yelled. “Bad dog!” I’m sorry, her eyes seemed to say. But I was too angry to forgive just then.

Abby grew up and settled down a bit and though my shoes were chewed and my magazines were shredded every now and then, I fell in love with her. She was always in the middle of a birthday celebration, enthusiastically wearing a party hat or a bow on her head. When I had a bad day, her floppy ears became tissues to wipe away the tears.

And she made a great pillow when we gathered on the floor in the living room for family video night. Abby completed us. I began noticing the gray hairs replacing her black ones, how she no longer leapt at the balls we’d toss in her direction. I knew her health was failing, but I wasn’t prepared when a few months after her 15th birthday, Abby passed away.

I cried until I ran out of tears. Did pets go to heaven? I just wanted to know Abby was at peace. Somehow, I dragged myself into work the next day. I was trying to keep my mind off my sorrow when I looked up to see a new co-worker standing there. “I heard about your dog and I felt I needed to bring you these,” she said. “I know this is how your heart probably feels right now.”

She handed me a small bouquet of flowers. All of the sudden, I couldn’t help myself. I broke out into laughter. My coworker was confused. “What is it?” she asked. I stared at the bouquet in my hands. Pink bleeding hearts. My co-worker had brought them for me, but I knew who they were really from.