Terry Has the Last Word

I moved to LA from New Orleans with my dog Terry, a sheltie-corgi mix. By 1995, Terry was having problems walking due to age and could not get up by himself after lying down. By November, on a Sunday, he began coughing in a disturbing way. At the vet, they said he had heart failure. I decided it was time to put him to sleep.

Afterward, I left the vet shell shocked. Once home, friends came over to take me to the Doo Dah Parade. I forgot about them coming. I didn’t want to go, but what else was I going to do? So I went to the parade with them.

Once at the parade, we sat down at a corner where the different participants stopped to do their skit or show. One group came up and reenacted the death of Julius Caesar. I suddenly thought, did Terry think I betrayed him by putting him to sleep? I killed him like the senators killed Caesar. But at that moment a participant raised up a sign that said, “STOP!” It startled me. Then she flipped the sign over and it said, “Thank You. Now Move on.”  It was someone giving directions to the participants. I was seeing the back of the sign.

I immediately felt that the messages were from Terry. He was saying, “Stop feeling that way! I am grateful. Now move on and be happy.” I told my friends that Terry just spoke to me, but of course they didn’t believe me.