A Healing Heart – The Story of Hina

After our dog Makana died just short of her 20th birthday about one year ago, we were so very heartbroken that my wife Jane and I never thought we could have another dog.

No other dog could ever be like Makana.

And it’s true! No dog is ever like another. I have shared my life with so many dogs over the years, and loved each one, but each one has taught me something different about myself.

Through sharing my life with dogs, I’ve learned patience, responsibility, how to cook healthy food, physical fitness and movement, how to accept death, how to “see deeper“ in my work with animals as a veterinarian, and how to live life with joy.

Little wonder that the old cliche still stands today, “A dog really is man’s best friend.”

“Dogs give us so much of life that is good, simple, and carefree. When you need your dog, your dog will be there for you, and Makana embodied that sentiment for us many times over the years.”

Learning to Open Our Hearts Again

After Makana’s passing, we found opportunities to foster a few other dogs, but ultimately felt that it was not the right time yet. We were emotionally unprepared to open up to the idea of a new dog.

Instead of a dog, we adopted two feral kittens (Thank you Judy Dalton!) who were rescued from the garbage cans behind Wal-Mart. Of course, we had to name them Wally and Marty.

Our older cat Garbonzo wasn’t too pleased at first, but he soon got used to their youthful energy. We enjoyed having an abundance of “cat energy” during our time of grief.

And cats are just so different from dogs!

They don’t really care (about you). They are free-thinking, independent spirits that roam the night hunting rats and mice, who demand new and interesting meals from their human servants, and then sleep all day. Perhaps there’s a lesson there…I can learn how to relax and not worry about paying my bills by mimicking the care-free attitude of my cats!

Cats add a wonderful energy to a home (unless that home contains birds…those tempting treats!). It was nice to focus our energies on our two new kitties during our time of grief.

As the days passed though, the void in our lives remained…the space that only a dog energy could fill.

An Unexpected Message

After returning from a 2-week vacation in California with family in the Sierra mountains, and some time spent alone in the desert of Ventana, I came home to hundreds of emails.

One email in particular contained an image of a little dog that needed a home. As Jane and I had just returned from a long vacation, we didn’t have the energy or time to take on another project right now. We came home to tons of mail, bills, important documents, the social security administration, dental work, and a back load of clients needing appointments. We did not feel we were in any condition to take on a dog at this time.

Jane was pretty adamant against getting a dog, for practical reasons. Of course, our refusal to meet the dog didn’t last long…

We lasted about a week, then asked the lady who found “Hina,” if we could take her for a few hours to see if she would fit into our lifestyle, which included our cats, our neighborhood cows, horses, goats, wild pigs, and neighborhood dogs.

And wow! She was such a different kind of dog! I have never had a small dog like her before!

Hina is 15 – 18lbs of solid muscle, with cinnamon-colored hair as short as a Rhodesian Ridgeback’s, and a curled tail like a Basenji.

She came from a home that was overwhelmed with young children and financial problems. Our good friends scouted her out for us and said, “We found your dog!”

At first, I was skeptical and not so sure.

I was overwhelmed with the backlog of work staring at me from my desk. I wondered if I could give time and commitment to a new dog, train it, feed it healthy meals, and most importantly, I wondered if I was ready to love again, since losing Makana was so painful.

Well, we’ve had Hina, for a little over a month, and she has quickly became part of the family. Training her not to chase our three cats has been a challenge, but every day, both Hina and the cats are learning how to live together in harmony. We’re not there yet, but it’s a work in progress.

One added benefit that I had not expected, is that I feel much better leaving Kauai to attend conferences and work on the mainland, because I know Jane will have a true companion, spirit being, and little guard dog from our new family dog. She’s a joy!

“A dog is not only “man’s best friend,” but also a companion that can heal the your physical as well as emotional and spiritual well being.”

Life Lessons in Love and Letting Go

Losing a pet is very difficult. Often, these animals are our closest friends – they’ve seen us at our worst, they’ve picked up on our habits and behaviors, they know our schedules, they read our emotions. They’re with us day in, day out, a “constant companion,” and we rarely worry about them leaving us. They’ve seen our true selves and they still want to be with us! They are love. And they give love freely (even cats do it, in their own way) and openly.

But when we lose our furry friends, it can help to remember gratitude for their presence in our lives. To share a bond like that is truly special.

We still miss Makana every day, but we also appreciate the new opportunity to embark on a new journey with Hina in our lives. I know she’ll teach us many life lessons as well.