Waiting at the Door----- Tissue Alert

[Guest guest]

Weeeeee u need to put tissue alert on these- I love reading these Jill thanks

for sharing them with us- Hugs N Love TJ

Waiting at the Door

By Barbara J. Crocker

My grandmother became a widow in 1970. Shortly after that, we went to

the

animal shelter to pick out a puppy to keep her company. Grandma decided on

a

little terrier that had a reddish-brown spot above each eye. Because of

these

spots, the dog was promptly named Penny.

Grandma and Penny quickly became very attached to each other, but that

attachment grew much stronger about three years later when Grandma had a

stroke.

Grandma could no longer work, so when she came home from the hospital, she

and

Penny were constant companions.

After her stroke, it became a real problem for Grandma to let Penny in

and

out because the door was at the bottom of a flight of stairs. So a

mechanism

using a rope and pulley was installed from the back door to a handle at the

top

of the stairs. Grandma just had to pull the handle to open and close the

door.

If the store was out of Penny's favorite dog food, Grandma would make one of

us

cook Penny browned beef with diced potatoes in it. I can remember teasing

my

grandmother that she loved that dog better than she loved her family.

As the years passed, Grandma and Penny became inseparable. Grandma's

old

house could be filled to the brim with people, but if Grandma went to take

her

nap, Penny walked along beside her and stayed by her side until she awoke.

As

Penny aged, she could no longer jump up on the bed to lay next to Grandma,

so

she laid on the rug beside the bed. If Grandma went into the bathroom,

Penny

would hobble along beside her, wait outside the door and accompany her back

to

the bed or chair. Grandma never went anywhere without her faithful

companion by

her side.

The time came when both my grandmother and Penny's health were failing

fast. Penny couldn't get around very well, and Grandma had been

hospitalized

several times. My uncle and I lived with Grandma, so Penny was never left

alone, even when Grandma was in the hospital. During these times, Penny sat

at

the window looking out for the car bringing Grandma home and would excitedly

wait at the door when Grandma came through it. Each homecoming was a grand

reunion between the two.

On Christmas Day in 1985, Grandma was again taken to the hospital.

Penny,

as usual, sat watching out the window for the car bringing Grandma home.

Two

mornings later when the dog woke up, she couldn't seem to work out the

stiffness

in her hips as she usually did. The same morning, she began having

seizures.

At age fifteen, we knew it was time. My mother and aunt took her to the

veterinarian and stayed with her until the end.

Now the big dilemma was whether to tell Grandma while she was still in

the

hospital or wait. The decision was made to tell her while she was in the

hospital because when we pulled up at the house, the first thing Grandma

would

look for was her beloved Penny watching out the window and then happily

greeting

her at the door. Grandma shed some tears but said she knew that it had to

be

done so Penny wouldn't suffer.

That night while still in the hospital, Grandma had a massive heart

attack.

The doctors frantically worked on her but could not revive her. After

fifteen

years of loving companionship, Grandma and Penny passed away within a few

hours

of each other. God had it all worked out ? Penny was waiting at door when

Grandma came Home.

May Gods Love

Always Protect & Comfort You !!!

Hugs & Love All Around

TJ aka Moon

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