Chewie, formally named, Chewbacca, born June of 1996, died July 16th, 2009 at the age of 13. Her spirit returned as beautiful as she had been. She returned as a yellow butterfly letting me know she was okay. She knew I would spot her right away, which I did. She also made my wildflower garden turn from yellow flowers to pink overnight. I had noticed the garden was lacking in colour and had said I wish there were more pink and the next day the garden flowers were pink.
She was also my psychic dog. It wasn’t unusual for her to know when something was happening that amazed everyone. When she was very young a patient lost her 8-year-old lab due to gout. We were working on grieving issues when suddenly Chewie started growling at the side of her chair. It was obvious that the spirit of the dog was in the room. We were both shocked & laughed at how wonderful it was for Chewie to let us know Lexus had joined us.
Another time she came in from outside where she often sat & sat on a patient’s feet. The patient hadn’t told me yet, but she had just lost her dog. Chewie sensed it before she put words to her grief. Thus Chewie was dubbed �the psychic dog�.
She even gave Bailey a last kiss the night before she died. It is amazing how animals know what is to come. Her last swim was in her life jacket, which she loved. It allowed her to continue what she loved so much even to the last day. We had a swim together the morning before she died.
Chewie had a way with stares. She would stare at me until I finally figured out what she wanted. She even stopped her staring picture on my office digital frame on the picture below. She was staring at patients and did so for the next two weeks. The picture started up on its own. The only thing I could figure is that she needed to say good-bye to every patient whom she loved so much.
She loved the seasons, the snow, the leaves, the sun and even the rain. She always wanted to go out. Even when she was near her end, had her cool summer haircut, she still wanted to be outside.
Then there was the kitty that Jonathan found in the street. The hunter turned mother, which blew us all away. Her instincts to kill every other animal were suddenly turned to maternal. I will tell you we didn’t leave her alone with the kitty or trust her. She had killed Jonathan’s pet bunny Carmel when she was 3 months old. She was really cute with the kitty.
Then there was the time she somehow got stuck in the blueberry bird protectors. It was really funny to see her whining and asking to be let out!
The end was painful. Marvin Berman, a true friend, even tried to help her dementia with biofeedback. She seemed to love it. She would lie peacefully during the treatment and then when it ended she would get up & give him a nudge. She was amazing. She knew when it was done before even being told she could get up.
Chewie was a happy dog. She was happy to be alive. Happy to be wherever she was. No matter how bad things got she always came out with a nudge, a greeting and often a bark. She will always be missed. We love you Chewie.
