The purple collar.

Kammy went to sleep yesterday arvo. She was very tired, her body hurt, and it felt lovely to close her eyes and rest.

When she woke up, she felt different.

"Hmmm..." Kammy thought to herself, yawning and stretching. "That must have been a really good sleep because I feel SO MUCH better now."

She opened her eyes and saw she was in A Place She'd Never Been Before. In front of her was A Very Big Dog. He was plumpish and frankly, looked like he might have eaten too many XL butterfly cupcakes with extra cream and extra pink sugar icing on them. He had white whiskers and a white beard and long white hair. He looked a little like the Dulux dog on telly.

"Where am I?" Kammy asked, strangely not afraid of this Very Big Strange Dog. "Are you the Dulux dog I sometimes see on telly?"

"I am The Dog Upstairs." replied the dog [that nevertheless looked like the Dulux dog on telly]. "But you can call me Bob if you like. Welcome, Kammy, to heaven!"

"Heaven?" asked Kammy, somewhat confused. "What's that? Is it a good place to be? And how did I get here?"

"Hmmm...you have a lot of questions for a dog that just woke up. But I shall try to answer them for you," said Bob patiently. "I hear, Kammy, that you threw a party in the park yesterday morning, on your way to heaven."

"It's true. I did." replied Kammy. "It was lovely even though it was raining, and many of my friends turned up."

"More than 10 friends?" Bob asked.

"Of course!" Kammy replied. "I have a lot more than 10 friends!"

"And did they bring you presents?" asked Bob.

"They did!" exclaimed Kammy. "Biscuits and liver. Snuffles and licks. Pats and cuddles. Kisses and good wishes. They were very good presents and I liked them all!"

"AHA!" exclaimed Bob back. "That sounds to me then, like you've been A Very Good Girl who has A Family That Loves You and Many Friends That Love You Too. And THAT, Kammy, is how you got to heaven."

"Oh." said Kammy, still unsure, "but will I like it here? And how will my family find me? I seem to have lost my purple collar. I'm not allowed out without my p*u*r*p*l*e collar, except when I play with Georgia Little Pea."

"Georgia Little Pea," said Bob sternly, "will have to work very hard to get to heaven. But pshaw! Kammy, PSHAW!" he laughed, "No one wears a collar in heaven! Not even a purple one!"

Kammy took a look around and saw that Bob was telling the truth. There were 100s and 1000s of dogs, as far as the eye could see. They were running and wrestling, climbing trees and swimming. They were eating double cream cake and fat sizzling sausages, and drinking fizzy lemonade. Not one of them was wearing a collar.

Kammy was amazed! "How is that possible? Aren't they worried they'll get lost? How will they ever find their way home again?"

"Oh Kammy," said Bob, suddenly looking very much like The Dog Upstairs, "they're not worried at all. Can't you see? They're already home. And so are you."

Kammy looked at Bob. She thought maybe she had some more questions. She was sure of it. But suddenly, she couldn't think of any at all. 

"I'm ready for a sausage and some lemonade now." she said instead. She gave herself a great big shake. She gave Bob a big wet kiss. And off she went, running up the hill for a bite to eat and to make some new friends.

*****

Sometimes, life hands you a bunch of sad days, all strung up together and that's just the way it is.

The last story, I had meant to write for a while because I wanted to remember how I came to fall in love with dogs. It was coincidental timing that it got posted on the same day that Kammy's email went out.

This one, I had to write because we'll all have to face a day like this, when we need to believe that our dogs have gone to a better place.

Kammy went away yesterday and won't be coming back. Lately, her dog friends have been going up to her for a gentle sniff then leaving her alone. Without a doubt, they knew she was not well.

Yesterday, after coming home, Georgia became very quiet and down. She went to her bed and slept most of the day. Apparently she didn't even greet the man when he came home. Did she realise that she'd lost a friend? We have to consider that possibility.

I know I said in my last story that I wasn't sure if there's a heaven. But Uncle STeve has assured me that there is [at least for dogs]. Who am I to disagree?

Love and peace.