I have always been in love with all the dogs, cats, birds and even Koi fish that have graced my life. Each little soul touches you in a totally different way. They give you something precious to cherish and take with you for the rest of your life. You miss them every day when they pass over The Rainbow Bridge. You tear up when you speak of them and smile with the beloved memories. And yet, there is always one. Just one that seems to take a string of love lights and wrap it around your heart to a point where you can barley breath . That one soul who seems to take your breath away for me is my animal soul mate. Her name is Emma Nani, an English pure bred black Labrador Retriever. Nani is Hawaiian for beautiful, and beautiful she is, inside and out. I’ve never met such an intuitive animal soul as Emma. She and I connected inwardly on a spiritual level even before I set eyes on her when she ten weeks old. I knew the day I first saw her that she was the one in my dreams.
Over the last ten years Emma and I have shared much. We shared the ring for Obedience and Rally where she danced her way through the courses like a little champion sharing the joy with her friends Ted, Stella and Honey-Girl who too amazed the onlookers with their proud performances. We as handlers learned about patience and trust from our beloved dogs and came away with a closer relationship than one could imagine.
Emma has shown the kind of patience and love with her little companion Mak our Shih Tzu three years her junior. Emma took Mak into her heart and home and became his momma. Mak’s little soul is precious and needs extra care as he was abandoned by his previous owner when they decided to not use him for professional dog shows. We rescued him at ten weeks old. Mak bites Emma’s legs and feet, cleans her ears whether she wants it or not and yet, Emma is patient, kind and shows him the affection a mother would bestow on her child.
When Hailie came into our life Emma learned the role she had to play with an infant who now is five years old. The bond between this rainbow child and Emma is truly extraordinary. Emma just seems to know how to act at any given moment with Hailie.
I have always sung to my animal children every day and for sure at bedtime. When I do this something remarkable happens. An energy fills the room that penetrates your and the animals consciousness and soul. The connection is electric. Emma communicates with me in a way no other animal child has. It’s hard to describe but for those of you who have had or are having a similar experience you know what I mean.
Emma now ten years old, is greying under the chin, paws and tummy. Her eyes droop now and the skin under her chin sags just like mine. She sleeps more and gets tired faster, yet still springs to action like a puppy when someone approaches or its time to play fetch or go swimming. She and I are growing older together. She still teaches me every day. While I can’t imagine life without my soul mate, I hold on to something Emma told a renowned Pet psychic about me, “that she knew me before in another life and we found each other again. That she would wait for me after she passed over The Rainbow Bridge, because I am her soul mate”.
