[NAGDU] Remembering

[Sherry Gomes]

I don't really have physical memories. I do keep my dogs collars, and I have a footprint from Bianca that her vet made for me. But with each dog, I remember something special about that dog in particular, even when it's been so long that many of the little things are lost in time, there's some tiny thing I try to keep in my heart.



-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via NAGDU
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2019 8:16 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Remembering

Wow Ann, that is so cool!
Sometimes one of my dogs visits me in a dream, but not very often.  It's special when one does.  

I have also saved fur, some ashes, and collars as mementos, but, as Charlene says, the fur doesn't feel the same as it did on the living dog.
I have scattered some of the ashes, so the body can return to Mother Earth, but I've saved some too, so they can be spread with my ashes when it's my turn.
Tracy


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ann Edie via NAGDU
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2019 9:15 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Ann Edie
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Remembering

Hi, Tracy,

I know what you mean about wanting to remember each dog, (and, in my case, also horse,) from the past in every detail. In my waking state, I have trouble remembering the details and even in putting them in words so as to write them down. But my past dogs and horses, whether pets or guides, do often visit me in my dreams. And when they do, they come back in all their living splendor, and I can interact with them just as if they were still living with me. One funny thing is that usually at some point in the dream I remark that whichever beloved companion is there with me must be getting very old by now, and in my dream I calculate their age and marvel that it is far beyond the normal life span of the species. Sometimes it surprises me that they are there, and I remind myself that I must feed them, or take them out for a walk. After the dream, they stay with me for some time, and I can hold the feel and sound of them in my mind and body very vividly. So obviously the memory of them does stay somewhere in my heart and body, even when it seems to have faded from my conscious mind.

Some individuals visit me in dreams more often than others, and it doesn't seem to be based on how long they were with me in life or how much I think of each one when I'm awake. I wonder whether you or others in the group have had the same experience of past guides or pets appearing in your dreams, and if some are frequent visitors while others appear only occasionally or never at all.

I do keep certain momentos from my past companions--a favorite toy or bed, a leash, or a collar--and when I handle these I do remember many of the details of that individual. Whether they come to me in dreams or through contact with favorite objects, it always makes me smile to feel them near me again.

Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2019 2:14 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Tracy Carcione
Subject: [NAGDU] Remembering

I've had 7 dogs over the course of about 39 years now.  I have trouble remembering what each of them looked like.  I remember in a general way, but not the fine details, and it bugs me a little.  If I could see, I'd have pictures of each dog, but I can't see, and there it is.  For the last 4, I've tried to write down as detailed a description as I can.  It helps some.


Do other people have some ways of remembering what past dogs felt like?  I'd be happy to add to my small bag of tricks.

Tracy

 

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