I was watching Inside Edition when I found out one of Oprah's Golden Retrievers, Gracie, died when she choked on a toy ball. Then I read what she wrote about Gracie and it made me think of my Sara.
From Oprah, the magazine:
WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE
Weeks have passed. And the pain has not subsided.
Every time I think about it, my heart starts racing and I
feel like I just got stabbed in the chest. It's a jolt, still.
Gracie's death.
Gracie is the smallest of the golden retrievers
photographed with me on O, The Oprah Magazine's January '06 and '07 covers.
She had just turned 2 on May 21. I thought we'd grow old together.
She choked to death on a plastic ball she found in the grass (it belonged to
Sophie, my 12-year-old cocker spaniel). The goldens were not allowed to play
with those clear little balls that light up. I feared they'd chew them, or worse.
The worst happened on May 26. Gracie was out with her dog walker, on a walk I
often do myself after their evening meal. On this sunny Saturday, having just
returned from a late lunch with friends, I decided to let the caretaker do it—walk
all three.
I hugged them all goodbye, leaving a lipstick print on Gracie's furry white
forehead, where she loved getting kisses. Twenty minutes later, I got a call:
"She's down and isn't breathing."
I ran barefoot out of the house and found the dog walker and one of my security
guys pumping her chest. Just as I reached them, the security guy looked up and
said, "I'm sorry, ma'am. We tried everything. I'm sorry. She's gone."
Gone??!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Yes, I saw it. I saw the caretaker
rocking back and forth on the ground, his arms wrapped around himself, crying
hysterically. My brain took in the whole scene, but it wasn't tracking properly.
The first thing I remember saying is, "It's okay. It'll be okay. Tell me what
happened." Through his sobs I heard: "...choked on a ball."
And I knew, this was real. Gracie is gone, Gracie is gone, Gracie is gone kept
repeating in my head.
I stood there dazed, stunned, crying—and watched as they placed her in the back
of a golf cart, her still-warm body with the lipstick stain on her fur.
But even in my stunned state, I knew this was not what it appeared to be: a freak
accident with a clear plastic ball that lit up inside. I don't believe in accidents. I
know for sure that everything in life happens to help us live.
So through my tears and stabbing pain and disbelief and wonder and questions
about how and why this happened, I leaned over my sweet and wild and curious
and mind-of-her-own Gracie, and asked, "Dear Gracie, what were you here to
teach me that only your death could show me?" And this is the answer: This
lovely little runt whom I'd brought home sick—on his first visit with her, the vet
told me to return her and get my money back—did more living in two years than
most dogs do in 12. She never stopped moving. Was energy in motion. Chasing
squirrels, hop-leaping through the pond like a rabbit. Finding anything she could
to play with, chew, run with. Dashing, frolicking. Speeding across the lawn as
though she were in a rush for life. I was always saying, "Gracie, slow down." She
gulped her food. Gulped treats. Would let you hug her for a second, then race off
to—where? She was the only dog I was always looking for. Going out on the
porch calling, "Graaaacie! Gracie, come!"
The day after she died, I went to the spot where she took her last breath and
called again, "Graaaacie! Graaaacie!" I was hoping security wouldn't hear me
and think I needed medical—or psychological—attention. Of course I knew this
time she wouldn't come running through the brush. Out of the pond. Shaking her
wet fur and racing to my arms with a smile. She was always, always smiling.
Not until I knew there'd be no response did I realize how much pleasure I had
taken in calling for her. So I called and cried. Called and cried. "Graaaacie!"
Tears of sadness for the shocking loss. Tears of joy for the pure happiness she'd
given me for nearly two years. I have never seen a being, human or animal,
always so full of joy. This dog lived every moment as though it were her last.
Her life was a gift to me. Her death, a greater one.
Ten days before she died, I was getting a yearly physical, and to lower my blood
pressure I'd think of Gracie's smiling face.
Just days before the "freak accident," the head of my company came into my
office to have a serious talk about "taking some things off your schedule—you're
doing too much." Maya Angelou called me to say the same thing. "You're doing
too much. Don't make me come to Chicago," she chided. "I want you to slow
down."
I'd broken a cardinal rule: The whole month of May I'd had no day off, dashing
from one event to the next. But though I appreciated everyone's concern, I still
had to finish the season. Wrap up the year's shows. Have foundation meetings.
Meet with auditors. Review plans for a new building, and on and on. So many
people on my list. I literally forgot to put myself on the list for a follow-up
checkup.
When the doctor's office called, I confessed. I hadn't heeded what I know for sure.
I said, "Doctor, I'm sorry. I had so many meetings with different people, I forgot to
put myself on the list."
The next day, Gracie died.
Slow down, you're moving too fast. I got the message.
Thank you for being my saving Gracie. I now know for sure angels come in all
forms.
If you have a dog lover on your list this holiday, avoid the crazy "black Friday" crowds and order this book. It's a very short, but inspirational book by Kay Hirai about her beloved Jack Russel Terrier and the lessons she learned from her. She's also donating 10% of the profits to Pasado's Safe Haven so it's sort of of double gift.
