What do you see, what do you feel with this painting? I painted this as a tribute to our dogs, our two black labs. When we moved to our new home in NW Wisconsin, that day was a great day, we were moving to our new home in a new community, Marge just retired earlier that week, and I was preparing to retire in the coming spring. We had one more trip back to our old home, then back to our new home, our first night together, so great and exciting. When we left for the trip back to pick up our last load we had all three of our dogs in the outdoor kennel, not a problem we have done this many times, just not in our new location. When we got back both labs were gone and the setter was on the porch by the front door, and after calling and driving the back roads we could not find our labs. What had happened to them? Marge and I were wondering what to do, and about that time the sheriff pulled onto our gravel driveway, and told us the sad story developing, our youngest lab was gone and the older lab was badly hurt. Apparently, our older lab panicked when we left and worked a hole in the kennel fence big enough to squeeze through, with the other dogs following. When a truck came by with the dark of the night and the black labs heading for home across the road, they both got hit. Our young lab was one year on that day, Marge and my first dog raised together, from a pup from our daughter's litter, what a blow. We went to the dog shelter where our labs were, and brought them home, one going into the house the other being buried out front. Not a lot of sleep for many days, the next morning I went to the end of the driveway to look at what had happened and there were heavy black rubber skid marks on the road, the driver, he or she tried the best they knew how to stop and miss our dogs but could not avoid hitting them. The sheriff might know more, but we did not press to find out who was responsible.

The grief for a loving dog is for me as great as losing a person, that is the way I am made up, so who this party is, they know we live there, they might even know about us now  since we moved to our new community, but for me what helps is to listen to St. Francis prayer asking, "Lord, where there is injury, pardon."  Now there is forgiveness, mercy, and with new faith in being reborn a new person, there is peace and understanding. Not hate. 

Our new lab never replaces our lost lab, but now he is going to be 3 this year, and we love once again and  the pain in our hearts has been soothed through God's mercy--bringing a new joyful lab into our lives.

For those who have lost friendly dogs or significant animals by accident, pardoning will help heal your grief.

Jimmy Springett