Seasons of Heartbreak

Reader Contribution by Nancy Addie
Published on October 29, 2014
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There are times when the farm is hard work, not just physical body shaping work, but inside my heart. We’ve had animals die this year, one after another. It started with “Little Boy” barn kitty this spring. He was best buds with the visiting possum last winter as the two shared bites of cat kibbles on top of the kitty condo. Little Boy and Mr. Possum were two peas in a pod in a most unusual friendship. I found my favorite barn feline under our bushes out front next to the road. It looked as though he had been struck by a passing car and tried to crawl home to be near his family before he passed. It was a sad day for me. Chad and I buried him next to the duck pen where he would sit watching the quackers splash in their green turtle sand box with feathers flying for him to chase. We marked his grave with a deteriorating cement turtle.

Next came a couple of chickens and our quakers (ducks!). One hen drowned in the llama water bin and the other became dinner to a wild animal. All we found of her were mixed color feathers scattered around our backyard. That’s when we decided to lock them up at night, which makes them very unhappy. Then two of the ducks passed away. The first quacker became sick and he laid inside the little nest I made for them as the other two stood near. They wouldn’t leave their sick friend until he passed. Three weeks later, another duck went to join his buddy in the crystal clear lake up in the heavens as he and our young puppy Biscuit got too close.

Without a doubt, the greatest loss was my beloved and constant companion puppy dog, Tribble Addie, who was taken by a speeding driver who didn’t bother to stop. I held my precious dog for hours afterwards crying into his soft, warm body. I never knew a heart could shatter into so many tearful fragments. I couldn’t be there when Chad laid him to rest next to the west viewing porch as my sobbing wouldn’t let me. I watched from my upstairs bedroom and clutched a plush dog that looked like my Tribble close to my broken heart. Chad placed a concrete angel laying in a woven basket on his grave. It rests next to the covered porch where we watch golden sunsets dance across the darkening skies every evening. It’s almost like Tribble is with me. Sometimes, I close my eyes, believing that he is curled on my lap.

Two short months later, our 17-year-old retriever Cody passed. He was incredibly faithful and simply an amazing dog through the years for our family. His failing body gave out, he needed to feel young again. He went to join Tribble and the boy barn kitty to play, chase unlimited bunnies and to be free without pain!

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