Our veterinary hospital staff had a social workshop next to our home in the forest and as we returned the cups to the carrying trays we noticed a Swallowtail Butterfly trapped in the container under a glass. I respect all living things so I gently lifted the glass freeing the butterfly. I could see that the lower part of the left wing had broken off but fortunately it did not interfere with his flight as it lifted away.
During that day my wife, Michele, and I had noticed that our thirteen-year-old Golden Retriever, Sundae, did not join in any of the events of the day. With food and people she typically is a constant invasion wanting to be fed or petted. My wife and I had both noticed her slowing down considerably over the past year and her absence from the event was a big concern for us. We had recently taken her to Sugarloaf Mountain and she needed to be carried up part of the way. She slept 98% of most days and although she enjoyed her food she had no quality of life. I have always said that dogs are put on Earth to have fun and without talking, Michele and I looked at each other and knew that her time had come. After numerous medications and attempts to treat her arthritis and back problems her tail rarely wagged anymore and we knew she no longer had any quality of life - we had to say goodbye.
In her younger days, Sundae was 'the bestest' dog except when it came to pizza on the counter. My brother, Randy, once lost an entire pizza to her when they left her alone with a pizza on the counter to cool. On the day we let her go we bought her a large pizza and when it was cool enough to eat gave it to her. Her spirit was released and she was gone.
Special friends gave us a dogwood tree in Sundae's memory and since Sundae always liked the water we decided to plant the tree next to our well. The family was tearful to think of Sundae gone but glad to know she was no longer in pain. I have always felt it was a privilege as a veterinarian to be able to say goodbye to a pet when they no longer had quality of life or were in chronic non-resolvable pain. We silently thought of Sundae, hugged and shed some tears and gazed at our new tree.
The next morning I got up and was surprised to see something on the tree. As I approached closer I could see the morning dew covering the entire tree and its flowers - and there on one of the flowers was a Swallowtail Butterfly - missing the lower part of the left wing just like the one released earlier. The butterfly stood motionless as the morning sun dried his wings and warmed him up. Whether this was the same butterfly we had released two days earlier or not we didn't know but the lack of the lower part of the left wing made it most likely. The butterfly stayed on the tree all morning and when I later showed my daughter, Nicole, it suddenly flew high up and disappeared in the tops of the surrounding trees. Whether it was the butterfly itself or its representation didn't matter, we had enjoyed many years of Sundae in our life and now her spirit was free.
