Post by wavemaker9 (Rick D.) on Apr 21, 2009 0:35:31 GMT -5
My Father and Mother were Bon Bon's last home. This is a true story written by the owner of the shelter. My Dad forwarded this to me today. I thought you might enjoy the story.
Rick
Bon Bon
There is no more forgiving of a heart than that of the heart which beats inside of a dog. A dogs love is phenomenally angelic…forever steadfastly committed..
We never knew what to expect when we arrived for our weekly rescue loads. We always hoped to be able to save as many as we could and to be able to walk away as emotionally unscarred as possible. It never was easy so we always made sure we talked about everything we encountered so as to not let it fester inside our selves.
Trudging thru the dim lit, poorly ventilated dank rooms that housed the cages within which the many forgotten souls awaited their fate….we hopped over streams of urine as it flowed toward floor drains. There were no windows in the entire shelter to open so fresh air can flow in. No sunshine to remind these animals that there is a world still existing outside the shelter walls. Sunshine and fresh air that most will never again enjoy the beauty of. For most of these dogs will exit the shelter dead, euthanized ,then frozen in a black plastic garbage bag awaiting disposal like mere discarded trash would be…thrown onto the crematory truck to be incinerated. That is a cold hard fact of life. Anyone who tries to tell you any different is a liar. Only no kill rescue facilities do not kill the animals they take in.
As our load tally grew that day I couldn’t help but notice a little bichon/maltese mix fella who had an enormous recently partially healed scar running across his entire back.
His cage card said his name was BonBon. He was a burn victim and so far no other rescue group wanted him because of the oozing scar making him hard to place since most people are very superficial in that they want a dog who “looks” pretty not one half bald with an enormous scar. BonBon was like a soldier who wore his battle scars for the world to see.
There was always room at our shelter for the unwanted, esthetically imperfect castaways. We were a hospice, a healing center and a sanctuary in which no ones life was ever questioned and all were to live out the natural length of their lives here safely in peace with an abundance of love. We welcomed BonBon in a heartbeat and he quickly made friends with several of the other “lifers” here therefore he roamed the sanctuary freely like a seasoned old soul who seemingly had been here before forever. He truly enjoyed every minute with us.
We took him to one of our adoption events and a young woman herself a burn victim fell in love with him and felt that they would have a special bond since both she and he were scarred for life from burns. She was a wonderfully loving young lady with a heart of gold. Kindness eminated from her very being .We were all excited that he had gotten such a special home. As while we loved every dog we took in we still always hoped that each would get a chance to live its life out in a home as the only dog so they could be spoiled rotten.
A few monthes after his adoption we got a phone call from the young woman’s mother. Her story was one I had never expected to hear . Shortly after the adoption the young woman came home to find her fiance had hung himself from a beam in her mothers basement. She herself had found him and she was devastated. Traumatized she clung to Bon Bon for comfort…but one month to the day after her lovers death she too chose to hang herself from the same beam that he had. …Her poor mother had found her daughter dead with BonBon whimpering lying under her hanging body. No one in the family could handle listening to BonBon whine so they decided with all on their plate at the moment that he had to go…so they called me. Whew…it was more than my heart could take as I truly thought the young woman was such an angel and my heart broke for her to think that such enormous heartbreak led her to take her own life so she could be with her love. Such a
tragedy. And I know she loved BonBon as he did her.
We met halfway at a truck stop late that night. Everyone heartbroken mourning this darling young woman’s passing. BonBon was visibly shaken and I couldn’t help but shed tears as I listened to the details of this tragedy…the entire time we stood there BonBon would not take his eyes off the people whom he had grown to love and with whom he shared such enormous grief. He wanted to be with them not in my arms. He kept pushing on my chest to get back into their arms but they never reached for him. It was as if they shut him off completely and in their grief refused to recognize his. They just kept saying they couldn’t deal with his whining and he was being too clingy.
He grunted and struggled to free himself from my embrace as they started their car and he cried out to them. They never looked back at him. Whimpering he watched them manuever their car out of the parking space…as they pulled away he screamed and squealed at the top of his lungs for them to come back as if to say “hey wait for me… you forgot me …please come back for me”!!!…his eyes never broke stare at them..His broken heart had just taken another gigantic blow…How such a tiny soul could endure such grief Ill never know…Nor will I ever understand how anyone could turn their back on a little dog whom was so obviously shattered by the same grief they were feeling. His heart was as broken as thiers yet they didn’t care to comfort him but rather rid themselves of his whining. I stood there tears streaming down my face… in the dark ,hugging BonBon as I watched the taillights of their car disappear into the night…as the agony of his
painful cries tore at my own heartstrings…I vowed he would never hurt this way again as long as I lived…. And that night I was convinced that he had the heart of a hero.
I spent the next few monthes pampering BonBon to get him past the tragedy. I remembered when my father died how his dog Speckles was so devastated that for the first 2 weeks following his passing Speckles lie on the bedroom floor with his head on my fathers bedroom slippers every breath a whimper…Id find myself at 3 am lying on the floor hugging Speckles trying to comfort him … he wouldn’t leave those slippers…I carried him outside to go to the bathroom and I hand fed him in the bedroom…his grief was overwhelming…and his constant whimpering was a painful reminder of just how deeply he loved my father. The separation of flesh from spirit is life’s most difficult transition to face. So compassionately I treated BonBon as I did Speckles to try to get his mind focused on joy rather than sorrow. We spent a lot of time going for car rides just the two of us, long walks, frog chasing, snuggling on the couch…sharing great meals.
Bon Bon’s favorite foods were ground beef with melted cheddar cheese over it, vanilla ice cream, chicken with broccoli seasoned with garlic and above all steak. He loved roast beef sandwiches and often shared lunch with me as we sat on the glider enjoying the warm summer breezes.
My strongest memory of Bon Bon will forever be of him lying on the glider cushions sound asleep as it rocked back and forth in the wind. A picture of a soul obliviously at peace. It was then that I felt my mission in his life was accomplished as I had gotten him thru his darkest hours and I could see he finally was content.
As with most of the dogs here eventually there came a day when someone came along who was the right home for them to live in and on that day we always shed tears however bittersweet the moment. Bon Bon was here several years before his forever home came along. By then he had settled into living in a group home and having enormous freedom. I was very much attached to Bon Bon and vowed he would only leave here IF he liked the people not just if they liked him.
His new family was a semi retired couple whom wanted so dearly to open their home to a dog whose life had been rough. They had read of BonBon and just felt he was the dog they wanted to adopt. They already had a female bichon age 20yrs whom they treasured and carried everywhere they went as she no longer could see well enough to be on her own. Their hearts were that of pure love and they immensely impressed me with their enormous compassion and great dedication for their precious little old dog. I agreed for them to visit BonBon.
Little stickler that he was I thought for sure BonBon wouldn’t like his new family and when he showed disinterest in them surely they would decide he wasn’t for them after all. However being the kind loving people that they were they thought enough to cook BonBon filet mignon before coming to visit him and they cut it into tiny pieces nicely seasoned and ready to eat. Smart people. Arriving with their little blind senior dog resting nicely on a pillow in the back seat of their car I immediately thought to myself that if BonBon likes them he couldn’t have found a better home anywhere in the world then thiers. They sat for hours on the glider next to Bon Bon sharing the filet mignon while telling BonBon all about his new home and their yacht that he could enjoy the ocean on. He listened intently between pieces of steak while studying both of them.. They went for a nice walk with him while munching on filet mignon with BonBon fully attentive of
their every move. I could see him checking them out as much as they were he. In BonBons eyes the deal was sealed and when the car door opened he jumped in and was ready to go home.
Paper work complete it was time for goodbyes…when you’re the one being left behind the ghostly reminders of the loved ones absence lurks for a long time and erasing years of BonBon’s presence would not be easy. I curled up in a ball and I cried for a good hour after he left and for days the place felt empty despite there being many other dogs here but his little spirit was so special that he was deeply missed. He and I had shared a moment in time indelibly etched upon my soul.
Over the years I received many letters and pictures of BonBon and his life adventures. A journey that warms the soul and makes me smile although always a tender pang. When I see his face I am reminded of how he was cast aside for his physical imperfections…and how some refuse to look beyond the surface to see the heart that beats inside …What a glorious special soul dwelled within that tiny badly scarred body.
One badly burned little dog who so enormously forgave humans for the painful injury instilled upon him…rose above such travesty and became a shining star whose light touched so many along his path……with great love I bow my head in humble grace deeply grateful to have been blessed to have been part of his journey.
BonBon passed away in his sleep on April 20,2009 of old age related illness ,at his forever home, very much loved, deeply missed and ever so fondly remembered .
On that day, the heart of a hero stopped beating…and the gates of heaven opened widely to welcome home a warrior……
Rick
Bon Bon
There is no more forgiving of a heart than that of the heart which beats inside of a dog. A dogs love is phenomenally angelic…forever steadfastly committed..
We never knew what to expect when we arrived for our weekly rescue loads. We always hoped to be able to save as many as we could and to be able to walk away as emotionally unscarred as possible. It never was easy so we always made sure we talked about everything we encountered so as to not let it fester inside our selves.
Trudging thru the dim lit, poorly ventilated dank rooms that housed the cages within which the many forgotten souls awaited their fate….we hopped over streams of urine as it flowed toward floor drains. There were no windows in the entire shelter to open so fresh air can flow in. No sunshine to remind these animals that there is a world still existing outside the shelter walls. Sunshine and fresh air that most will never again enjoy the beauty of. For most of these dogs will exit the shelter dead, euthanized ,then frozen in a black plastic garbage bag awaiting disposal like mere discarded trash would be…thrown onto the crematory truck to be incinerated. That is a cold hard fact of life. Anyone who tries to tell you any different is a liar. Only no kill rescue facilities do not kill the animals they take in.
As our load tally grew that day I couldn’t help but notice a little bichon/maltese mix fella who had an enormous recently partially healed scar running across his entire back.
His cage card said his name was BonBon. He was a burn victim and so far no other rescue group wanted him because of the oozing scar making him hard to place since most people are very superficial in that they want a dog who “looks” pretty not one half bald with an enormous scar. BonBon was like a soldier who wore his battle scars for the world to see.
There was always room at our shelter for the unwanted, esthetically imperfect castaways. We were a hospice, a healing center and a sanctuary in which no ones life was ever questioned and all were to live out the natural length of their lives here safely in peace with an abundance of love. We welcomed BonBon in a heartbeat and he quickly made friends with several of the other “lifers” here therefore he roamed the sanctuary freely like a seasoned old soul who seemingly had been here before forever. He truly enjoyed every minute with us.
We took him to one of our adoption events and a young woman herself a burn victim fell in love with him and felt that they would have a special bond since both she and he were scarred for life from burns. She was a wonderfully loving young lady with a heart of gold. Kindness eminated from her very being .We were all excited that he had gotten such a special home. As while we loved every dog we took in we still always hoped that each would get a chance to live its life out in a home as the only dog so they could be spoiled rotten.
A few monthes after his adoption we got a phone call from the young woman’s mother. Her story was one I had never expected to hear . Shortly after the adoption the young woman came home to find her fiance had hung himself from a beam in her mothers basement. She herself had found him and she was devastated. Traumatized she clung to Bon Bon for comfort…but one month to the day after her lovers death she too chose to hang herself from the same beam that he had. …Her poor mother had found her daughter dead with BonBon whimpering lying under her hanging body. No one in the family could handle listening to BonBon whine so they decided with all on their plate at the moment that he had to go…so they called me. Whew…it was more than my heart could take as I truly thought the young woman was such an angel and my heart broke for her to think that such enormous heartbreak led her to take her own life so she could be with her love. Such a
tragedy. And I know she loved BonBon as he did her.
We met halfway at a truck stop late that night. Everyone heartbroken mourning this darling young woman’s passing. BonBon was visibly shaken and I couldn’t help but shed tears as I listened to the details of this tragedy…the entire time we stood there BonBon would not take his eyes off the people whom he had grown to love and with whom he shared such enormous grief. He wanted to be with them not in my arms. He kept pushing on my chest to get back into their arms but they never reached for him. It was as if they shut him off completely and in their grief refused to recognize his. They just kept saying they couldn’t deal with his whining and he was being too clingy.
He grunted and struggled to free himself from my embrace as they started their car and he cried out to them. They never looked back at him. Whimpering he watched them manuever their car out of the parking space…as they pulled away he screamed and squealed at the top of his lungs for them to come back as if to say “hey wait for me… you forgot me …please come back for me”!!!…his eyes never broke stare at them..His broken heart had just taken another gigantic blow…How such a tiny soul could endure such grief Ill never know…Nor will I ever understand how anyone could turn their back on a little dog whom was so obviously shattered by the same grief they were feeling. His heart was as broken as thiers yet they didn’t care to comfort him but rather rid themselves of his whining. I stood there tears streaming down my face… in the dark ,hugging BonBon as I watched the taillights of their car disappear into the night…as the agony of his
painful cries tore at my own heartstrings…I vowed he would never hurt this way again as long as I lived…. And that night I was convinced that he had the heart of a hero.
I spent the next few monthes pampering BonBon to get him past the tragedy. I remembered when my father died how his dog Speckles was so devastated that for the first 2 weeks following his passing Speckles lie on the bedroom floor with his head on my fathers bedroom slippers every breath a whimper…Id find myself at 3 am lying on the floor hugging Speckles trying to comfort him … he wouldn’t leave those slippers…I carried him outside to go to the bathroom and I hand fed him in the bedroom…his grief was overwhelming…and his constant whimpering was a painful reminder of just how deeply he loved my father. The separation of flesh from spirit is life’s most difficult transition to face. So compassionately I treated BonBon as I did Speckles to try to get his mind focused on joy rather than sorrow. We spent a lot of time going for car rides just the two of us, long walks, frog chasing, snuggling on the couch…sharing great meals.
Bon Bon’s favorite foods were ground beef with melted cheddar cheese over it, vanilla ice cream, chicken with broccoli seasoned with garlic and above all steak. He loved roast beef sandwiches and often shared lunch with me as we sat on the glider enjoying the warm summer breezes.
My strongest memory of Bon Bon will forever be of him lying on the glider cushions sound asleep as it rocked back and forth in the wind. A picture of a soul obliviously at peace. It was then that I felt my mission in his life was accomplished as I had gotten him thru his darkest hours and I could see he finally was content.
As with most of the dogs here eventually there came a day when someone came along who was the right home for them to live in and on that day we always shed tears however bittersweet the moment. Bon Bon was here several years before his forever home came along. By then he had settled into living in a group home and having enormous freedom. I was very much attached to Bon Bon and vowed he would only leave here IF he liked the people not just if they liked him.
His new family was a semi retired couple whom wanted so dearly to open their home to a dog whose life had been rough. They had read of BonBon and just felt he was the dog they wanted to adopt. They already had a female bichon age 20yrs whom they treasured and carried everywhere they went as she no longer could see well enough to be on her own. Their hearts were that of pure love and they immensely impressed me with their enormous compassion and great dedication for their precious little old dog. I agreed for them to visit BonBon.
Little stickler that he was I thought for sure BonBon wouldn’t like his new family and when he showed disinterest in them surely they would decide he wasn’t for them after all. However being the kind loving people that they were they thought enough to cook BonBon filet mignon before coming to visit him and they cut it into tiny pieces nicely seasoned and ready to eat. Smart people. Arriving with their little blind senior dog resting nicely on a pillow in the back seat of their car I immediately thought to myself that if BonBon likes them he couldn’t have found a better home anywhere in the world then thiers. They sat for hours on the glider next to Bon Bon sharing the filet mignon while telling BonBon all about his new home and their yacht that he could enjoy the ocean on. He listened intently between pieces of steak while studying both of them.. They went for a nice walk with him while munching on filet mignon with BonBon fully attentive of
their every move. I could see him checking them out as much as they were he. In BonBons eyes the deal was sealed and when the car door opened he jumped in and was ready to go home.
Paper work complete it was time for goodbyes…when you’re the one being left behind the ghostly reminders of the loved ones absence lurks for a long time and erasing years of BonBon’s presence would not be easy. I curled up in a ball and I cried for a good hour after he left and for days the place felt empty despite there being many other dogs here but his little spirit was so special that he was deeply missed. He and I had shared a moment in time indelibly etched upon my soul.
Over the years I received many letters and pictures of BonBon and his life adventures. A journey that warms the soul and makes me smile although always a tender pang. When I see his face I am reminded of how he was cast aside for his physical imperfections…and how some refuse to look beyond the surface to see the heart that beats inside …What a glorious special soul dwelled within that tiny badly scarred body.
One badly burned little dog who so enormously forgave humans for the painful injury instilled upon him…rose above such travesty and became a shining star whose light touched so many along his path……with great love I bow my head in humble grace deeply grateful to have been blessed to have been part of his journey.
BonBon passed away in his sleep on April 20,2009 of old age related illness ,at his forever home, very much loved, deeply missed and ever so fondly remembered .
On that day, the heart of a hero stopped beating…and the gates of heaven opened widely to welcome home a warrior……
