Today is the first day of the Week of the Dead., I’m honestly not sure if this is real or something someone from my high school made up, but after I read what the next seven days “stand” for…It brought me some peace.

Today is the day that the dogs that have passed over will come home. This is the first year without my brother’s dog, Baja. She was one of the most influential dogs who taught us many lessons in the eight short years that she was by our sides.

She didn’t like my dog, Nyx. Which I get. They lived very separate lives, but both were equally loved. It was a little tricky when my brother moved in with us for a short period of time. We rotated having one dog out so they could see everyone and roam before bed. We had a couple of mishaps happen.

My favorite one that comes to mind is when Baja somehow opened the door to the basement. My brother, husband, and I were sitting in the living room watching TV. We all scrambled quickly; it was something from a classic Scooby-Doo chase scene. My brother chased Baja, my husband tackled Nyx, and I ran back and forth between the living room and kitchen, we all ran at least twice in a full circle before we captured everyone unscathed.

It was stressful then, but once we all sat back down, we laughed for about twenty minutes. We miss her every day.

Another dog that I remember strongly today is my childhood dog, Dani Lynn. Dani passed on July 4th, 2023, from congestive heart failure after Lasix did not help her condition. We got to hold onto her for thirteen years, she was our biggest cheerleader at every soccer game, our favorite toaster “puppy” (she would alert us by barking like crazy when the toaster went off), and my favorite snuggle bug.

Dani was my mother’s heart dog, and for good reason. She was so welcoming when Luna joined my family, even Nyx – she helped me keep her in line.

Even after she went blind, she still made us laugh by staring at a wall or trying to play fetch, even though she pranced in the wrong direction the ball went. (Eventually we got her a “giggle ball” that makes noise when she moved it… She’d get lost in play and halfway into the neighbor’s yard if we let her keep going) .

I know if they were here today, they would be so proud of me for pursuing my dreams and helping animals just like them. Give your pets extra love today; they deserve it.