Magic Crofton

The Magic of Christmas

Sometimes you know you are supposed to be in a place but circumstances decree that you can’t be there, and so, that’s what happened in December. 

I was contacted by a rescue that we deal with quite regularly about a sweet old black lab. Well, he wasn’t old, he was 9 years young. His life had been harsh. He had a wheeze in his chest, fluid on his lungs, heart disease and had been put in a dog pound. 

When I was contacted about an old boy with lots of medical problems needing a retirement home, I thought, ‘ya-hey that’s me.’ oldies, medical problems, just my cup of tea. Did we know of a retirement home and would Irish Retriever Rescue UK take him? ‘Well, I’m taking him,’ I said greedily.

I rang numerous times to see how this boy was. I couldn’t take him as I was fostering numerous dogs and it would have made his life more difficult, so I thought as he was being fostered it would give me time and that would be great. It would give me time to welcome him home. The rescue was wonderful and understood. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on his side and it would seem that the damage had already been done to his poor body. He was suffering and so the best decision was made to put him to sleep. He was called home on Christmas Eve.

It was a blow as I am used to old, crotchety dogs with a thousand ailments and they don’t tend to live long. However, this little man only had a week out of the pound before having to be put down. I have no doubt that his foster and the rescue put his needs first. I am only sorry I couldn’t hug him to say goodbye as the song says ‘ you had me at hello’. I saw this sweet old boy and saw, ‘what an attribute.. talk about being lucky.’ 

So, today, I adopted him and will set up a memorial in his name. Cracked you may think. Cracked to adopt a dead dog whom you never met. Well, cracked I am. After all, I am part of a team that rescues dogs. Yes, he is gone to God. Yes, he didn’t know me in this life but God will make sure that he knows me in the next one. When I saw him, I said, his name is ‘Magic’.  Maybe he didn’t know how much I worried about him and the beds bought so he could choose where to sleep, but he does now.  He wasn’t a Golden Retriever, he was an old black lab with a thousand ailments. I know that someone was there to hold his paw and tell him he was loved and not left on his own to meet the Great Creator.

I know people will say, ‘you did your best, it’s one of those things, it wasn’t meant to be’. I just wag my head, and try to agree as I know the Magic I never knew, will never come again. That is the tragedy, the tragedy of lost opportunities, like a breeze, you think there will be many more opportunities to look forward to, but you don’t know, that, it is the only opportunity, one that will never come again. Magic certainly left his mark, of that there is no doubt. He left a magical pawprint on my heart and through the memorial will leave many more pawprints on many more hearts.

Most of my dogs have been cremated, and each has their own urn with their name emblazoned on a brass plaque. I didn’t have Magic’s ashes, what would I say when I went to the crematorium with no dog? I wanted an urn like all the others with his name emblazoned on it ‘Magic’.  I then thought long and hard about it. Well, I will tell him, when he asks ‘what will I put in? there is nothing there’  ‘You’re wrong, I want you to put in a Summer’s day, a gentle breeze, a Winter with lots of snowballs, laughter, a forest walk,  a swim and splash at the beach.  I want the smell of Apple blossoms in my garden and the early morning dew on the grass. I want the grief of never having held him and the tears rolling down my face and the joy of knowing he is free from pain as he entered heaven’s gates. I want the smile of knowing he is at last, at peace and knowing he was loved all the while, even though he didn’t know it at the time. It’s a lot to pack in there but most of all I want his courageous spirit, loyalty, kindness and gentleness all encapsulated in that little box of love, the box that says ‘Magic’ for that is what it was, and is.